
Book ^^3 

Copyright N° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



^> 



OLD ENGLISH BALLADS 



Selected and Arranged for Use 
in Eleme7itary Schools 



BY 



JOHN A. LONG 




D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



Copyright, 191 2, 
By D. C. Heath & Co. 



112 



61 



Ji^ 



SCU320664 



^.^-^ 



K* 



PREFACE 

Children of the Elementary School should be given such an 
introduction to English poetry as will cause them to love it 
and continue to read it after they have passed beyond the con- 
trol of the school. If this result is to be accomplished, the 
selection of poetry placed before the child at different periods 
of school life must be made upon the same basis as that used 
in making any other selection of subject matter in the curricu- 
lum. It must make its appeal to the natural aptitudes and 
spontaneous impulses to be found in the hfe of the child as 
he is then living it. 

It is just as easy to produce arrest in the field of taste and 
refined feeling as it is in any other field of human education. To 
thrust upon the immature and undeveloped child the poetic 
expressions of a highly refined and delicately wrought social 
structure is to invite defeat at the very outset. Not only does 
the child remain untouched at the time, but that very fact 
makes it highly probable that he will not appreciate those 
higher sentiments when the time for their normal development 
has come. 

Educationally, as well as historically, the ballad is the begin- 
ning of poetry. It reflects a social condition in which the rela- 
tions of man to man were much more simple and direct than 
they are to-day, but a condition out of which modern society 
has been developed. It makes its appeal to the fundamental 
virtues: unflinching courage, unhesitating devotion, the dis- 
tribution of elemental justice, and the revolt of the individual 
against the oppressions of the privileged classes. It is true 
that the ballad exhibits these virtues in their direct, individual, 
physical form, but they are none the less natural and funda- 
mxcntal. Worked over into other forms, refined, expanded into 

ill 



iv Preface 

closer and more delicate human relationships, they constitute 
the social virtues of the present time. 

In its form, as well as its substance, the ballad is admirably 
adapted to that period of youth when the social relationships 
are just coming into consciousness ; when the child is still in- 
dividualistic, but groping about for a firm basis on which to 
live and act in contact with his fellows. The ballad is a story. 
Its movement is rapid and its events stirring. The hero goes 
forth to battle, is soon engaged, fights a manly fight, and the 
ballad comes to an end. Delicate descriptions are not found. 
Nice moral distinctions are not made. Brave deeds, heroic 
action, make up the whole of the story. Its verse form is 
extremely simple, its rhythm is the rhythm of ^^ Mother Goose," 
the rhythm of nature. Its pulse is the pulse of young blood, 
the flow of vigorous life. Yet it is true music, a music that will 
last and grow into higher forms. 

Since these old ballads have so many points of contact with 
child nature, and because they make such a natural introduction 
to the larger world of poetry beyond, it would seem that they 
should receive a larger use in our elementary schools. In the fol- 
lowing selection no attempt has been made to discuss literary 
values. It is thought that that can be safely left to the child. 
The historical setting has been given, so that the child may 
read intelligently, and such changes in spelling and expression 
have been made as will remove some of the difficulties of read- 
ing without detracting from the beauty and vigor of the old 
texts. 

J. A. L. 
Chicago, 

August, igi2. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Royal Forests of England 3 

The Robin Hood Ballads 8 

Robin Hood's Journey to Nottingham .... 13 

Robin Hood and Little John 17 

Robin Hood and Allin a Dale 26 

Robin Hood rescuing the Widow's Three Sons . . 34 

Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar , .... 39 

Robin Hood and Maid Marian 48 

Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne 52 

Robin Hood's Death and Burial ...... 64 

Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of 

Cloudesley 69 

The Hunting of the Cheviot 87 

Chevy Chace 88 

King John and the Abbot of Canterbury . . . .101 

King Edward and the Tanner 109 

The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington 115 

Johnnie Armstrong 121 

Sir Patrick Spens . . 126 

Sir Andrew Barton 133 



MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Map of the Royal Forests of Early England . . 2 

Robin Hood 9 

Little John 21 

Allin a Dale and his Bride 29 

Friar Tuck 41 

Guy of Gisborxe 57 

The Market Place in Merry Carlisle . . . .81 

At Chevy Chace 93 

The Abbot and the Shepherd 105 

The Maid of Islington 117 

Sir Patrick Spens 127 



Vll 



OLD ENGLISH BALLADS 




The Royal Forests oe Early England 



OLD ENGLISH BALLADS 

K\)t Eogal jForests of ^nglanU 

Long ago, when England was covered with forests and 
wild animals were plentiful in all the woods, every man was 
a hunter, and, like all primitive people, his weapon was the 
bow and arrow. Men had not learned to raise domestic 
animals and to weave cloth for clothing, so the flesh of 
wild beasts furnished the principal food for the family, and 
their skins were the principal source of clothing. Hunt- 
ing was then a necessity and the serious business of all 
men. 

The people settled in little villages, built a wall of logs 
about their cluster of rude huts for defense against their 
enemies, and cleared a small space of land, where the women 
and children raised a few vegetables and a httle grain for 
the family use. But this was only a httle help in times of 
need. By far the larger part of their hving had to be got 
from the forest and depended upon the activity and skill 
of the men in hunting the wild game. 

As time went on, the number of people increased, the 
villages grew into considerable towns, and the httle patches 
of cleared ground extended into larger tracts of farming 
land. Of course this made the wild game scarcer and 
harder to get, and many of the men gave up hunting as 

3 



4 Old English Ballads 

a business, and became farmers. They learned to raise 
hogs, cattle, and sheep for their meat and clothing, and 
ceased to depend upon the wild animals of the woods. 
These free Enghsh farmers were called yeomen. 

But they did not forget, nor permit their children to 
forget, how to handle the weapons that had been so useful 
to them in former times. ^^In my time," says a writer 
of the period, ^'my father was as diligent to teach me to 
shoot as to teach me any other thing ; and so I think other 
men did with their children; he taught me how to draw, 
how to lay my body to the bow, and not to draw with 
strength of arm, as divers other nations do, but with strength 
of body. I had my bows bought me according to my age 
and strength; as I increased in them, so my bows were 
made bigger and bigger, for men shall never shoot well 
except they be brought up to it." 

The long-bow and the quarterstaff were the weapons of 
the yeomen, as the lance and sword were the weapons of 
the noblemen. Contests of archery and cudgel play were 
the common pastimes at every meeting on market days 
or holidays. The English were a nation of archers; and 
bowyers, stringers, and arrow-makers were to be found in 
every village. 

Of course there were still large tracts of forest land, 
lying between the farming districts, where wild game was 
plentiful, and where the yeomen still spent some of their 
time in hunting, as their fathers had done before them. 
The wild creatures belonged to the one who could take 
them, and this unoccupied land was considered to be the 
common property of all. But by and by there came into 
England a line of kings who claimed that the wild beasts 



The Royal Forests of England 5 

of the forest belonged to them and must not be killed with- 
out their permission, and that the forests which protected 
the animals were the personal property of the king. This 
was the origin of the Royal Forests of England. 

At one time there were over sixty of these forests, some 
large and some small, found in all parts of the kingdom, 
and occupying about one tenth of the entire country. 
Each one was in charge of the sheriff of the county in which 
it was located and was looked after by keepers whose busi- 
ness it was to see that the ^^king's deer" were not molested 
or disturbed. 

Of course it was only the larger and better animals 
which the king insisted upon keeping for his own use and 
for the pleasure of his personal friends. Of these the 
principal one was the deer, which furnished exciting sport 
in the chase and excellent venison for the king's table. 
Three kinds of deer were found in these royal forests. 
The largest was the red deer, of which the female is called 
a hind, and the male of the fifth year a stag, of the sixth 
year a hart, and of the seventh year a great hart. Smaller 
than this was the fallow deer, pale yellow in color, of which 
the female is called a doe, and the male a buck. The 
smallest was the roe deer, of which the male is called the 
roebuck. Next to the deer, the wild hogs gave the greatest 
sport in hunting and the best -meat when killed. They 
had been brought from Germany and were not found in 
all the royal forests. Boar's head was considered a deli- 
cacy, and must always grace the royal table on Christmas 
and other special occasions. 

One of the oldest and most celebrated of the royal forests 
was Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire. It was twenty-five miles 



6 Old English Ballads 

long and about ten miles wide. It was plentifully stocked 
with deer and had witnessed some of the most splendid 
of the royal hunts. Like most of these forests it was not 
all covered with woods. There were extensive tracts of 
cleared land, covered with grass and shrubs, where the deer 
grazed and where birds and smaller animals were wont to 
live. Even in the wooded part it was not dense and close, 
for there were great spreading oaks, some of which would 
shelter two hundred horsemen, with no smaller trees about 
them, but only a carpet of rich grass spread out beneath. 
Deep thickets there were, to be sure, but between them ran 
pleasant glades and sun-flecked glens, by the side of 
babbling brooks. By the side of the river were Creswell 
Craggs and the caves in which Robin Hood and his merry 
men made their winter home. Directly through the forest 
ran the great public highway to the north. 

Another of the noted royal forests was the Forest of 
Dean. It was situated in the western part of England, 
on the Welsh border, and formed a sort of defense against 
that people. Dean Forest was supplied with deer and 
wild hogs, but was especially noted for the fact that it 
contained the early iron and coal mines of the kingdom. 
These were also considered to be the special property 
of the king, and no man was permitted to work them except 
by his consent. 

Epping Forest was in Essex, and was one of a number 
of small forests which lay close about London, so that the 
king could have his sport without having to journey far 
from the royal palace. It was in this forest that the king 
gave permission to the Londoners to hunt one day in the 
year. Accordingly, on Easter Monday great crowds of 



The Royal Forests of England y 

London citizens were accustomed to come together and 
take part in the ''Epping hunt." 

Probably the best known of the royal forests was called 
the New Forest. It was in the southern part of the 
kingdom, about Southampton, reaching down to the sea. 
It was twenty-one miles long by about twelve miles wide, 
and contained both deer and wild hogs. This forest was 
created by Wilham the Conqueror, and showed how little 
regard these kings had for the rights of the people, and how 
cruel were the laws with which they protected the beasts 
of the chase. ^^To form the hunting ground for this New 
Forest,'' says a writer of that time, ''he caused churches 
and villages to be destroyed, and, driving out the people, 
made it a habitation for deer." It is said that the people 
of eighteen villages were thus driven from their homes and 
deprived of their property without receiving any return 
whatever. ''If any one killed a stag or a wild boar," 
says that same writer, "his eyes were put out, and no one 
presumed to complain. But beasts of the chase he cherished 
as if they were his children." Other punishments for kilHng 
the king's deer were: to have the right hand cut off, so that 
the offender could not draw the bow; or to have the feet 
cut off, so that he could no longer follov/ the chase; or to 
have his ears cropped from his bead. 

It is Httle wonder that many bold yeomen fled to the 
forests to escape these dreadful penc^xti:-:. became outlaws, 
and, by gathering into bands un(..c^ an active leader, at- 
tempted to protect themselves agaii-t the tyranny of the 
king and his officers. 



Of all the bold yeomen who broke the forest laws and 
were driven to seek refuge in the royal forests themselves, 
there to live a lawless, but free and independent hfe, the 
most celebrated was Robin Hood. His especial domain 
was the Forest of Sherwood, whose beautiful oaks and sunny 
glades offered him sufficient shelter in summer, and where 
the caves of Creswell Crags gave him a winter home. 
He was active and fearless, could give and take hard 
knocks, was quick and generous in recognizing the rights 
of others, and soon gathered about him a band of de- 
voted followers as vigorous and resourceful as himself. 
It is said that three blasts upon the bugle horn would 
gather about him a hundred archers so strong and cou- 
rageous in fight that four hundred brave men would hesitate 
to attack them. 

The hand of Robin Hood was raised against no man 
save those who sought to do him injury or to interfere with 
the free hfe he had been compelled to adopt Bishops, 
sheriffs, and gamekeepers were the only enemies he ever 
had. He ate only of the king's venison, and took only of 
the money and goods of those that he thought had money 
and goods to spare. To the poor he was always a friend, 
and many a simple yeoman enjoyed a good meal or com- 
fortable clothing at the expense of some nobleman or 

8 



\\ \ 










Robin Hood 



The Robin Hood Ballads ii 

bishop whom Robin Hood had met upon the way. He 
never harmed child or woman, was a friend of the king, 
and a devout worshipper of the Holy Virgin. 

At a time when every Enghsh yeoman was a skillful 
archer, Robin Hood was famous the country over for his 
use of the long bow. At cudgel play he and his merry 
men were scarcely less noted, and many a village champion 
fell before the quarterstaff of a man in Lincoln green. 
His bold, fiee life in the woods, his unerring eye and strong 
arm, his never failing courtesy, even to those he had de- 
feated and robbed, his openhanded generosity and love 
of fair play, made Robin Hood the idol of the common 
people, who delighted to sing of his deeds and those of his 
followers in the old fireside songs known as the EngHsh 
Ballads. 

It is well to remember that these old ballads were really 
sung, probably first by some minstrel with his harp, and 
then by the people without any instrument. They were 
not written down in books as we find them now, but were 
learned by one person from another as they were sung at 
pubHc gatherings or about the family hearth. Accordingly 
the ^ meter and emphasis must be preserved often at the 
expense of proper pronunciation. The line 

By the leave of our lady, 

should receive the accent on the last syllable, as here in- 
dicated. In the line 

Which name shall be changed anon, 

the word changed is given two syllables instead of one. 



12 



Old English Ballads 



Not only were these ballads sung, they were danced; and 
such lines as 



or 



With a hey down, down, and a down, 
With a link and a down and a day 



were meaningless expressions used as a refrain, often in- 
troduced as extra lines, and accompanied by the specially 
emphatic activity of the body and foot of the dancer. 




?^oixi tl)e gcoman HaU, Eobin of Hocfeslcg, bjas 

tnliuceti to si)oot one of ti)c Iting's IBttx, anU 

tt)us tiircome l^otim ?^ootf, tije ©utlaixr 

The sheriff of Nottingham was giving a shooting match in 
the name of the king, and young Robin Hood, like all the boys 
of the country round, was going to see the sport. He w^as an 
active, honest yeoman lad, about fifteen years old, a little bold 
in speech, and a little proud of his skill w^th the bow. On his 
way he fell in with a number of the king's foresters, who poked 
fun at the boy, and declared that he did not shoot well even 
for one of his age. This roused Robin's mettle and he offered 
to wager that he could hit a m^ark at as great a distance as any 
of them, and that he could kill the best hart in the herd which 
they saw grazing in the distant glen. The wager was taken 
and the deer slain. Then Robin realized that he had killed 
one of the king's deer and had broken the forest laws of the 
kingdom. The foresters, who had urged him on to do this 
thing, now undertook to arrest him, but he resisted and fled 
to the forest, where he spent the remainder of his life. 

2^obtn llooU's Sourneg to fiottingljam 

Robin Hood was a tall young man, 

And fifteen winters old ; 
And Robin Hood was a proper young man, 

Of courage stout and bold. 

13 



14 Old English Ballads 

Robin Hood went unto fair Nottingham, 

With the general for to dine ; the public 

There he was aware of fifteen foresters 

Drinking beer, ale, and wine. 

''What news ?" ''What news ? " said Robin Hood, 
"What news fain wouldst thou know ? glad 

Our king has provided a shooting match, 
And I'm ready with my bow/' 

"We hold it in scorn," said the fifteen foresters, 

"That ever a boy so young 
Should bear a bow before our king, 

That's not able to draw one string." 

"I'll hold you twenty marks," said bold Robin Hood, 

"By the leave of our Lady, 
That I'll hit a mark a hundred rod, 

And I'll cause a hart to die." 

"We'll hold you twenty marks," then said the foresters, 

"By the leave of our Lady, 
Thou hit not a mark a hundred rod. 

Nor cause a hart to die." 

Robin Hood he bent up a noble bow, 

And a broad arrow he let fly, 
He hit a mark a hundred rod 

And he caused a hart to die. 



Robin Hood^s Journey to Nottingham 15 

The hart did skip, and the hart did leap, 

And the hart lay on the ground ; 
^^The wager is mine," said bold Robin Hood, 

^^If it were for a thousand pound.'' 

^^The wager is none of thine," then said the foresters, 

''Although thou be in haste, 
Take up thy bow, and get thee hence, 

Lest we thy sides do baste." 

Then Robin he bent his noble bow, 

And his broad arrows he let fly. 
Till fourteen of the fifteen foresters 

Upon the ground did lie. 

He that did this quarrel first begin, 

Went tripping over the plain ; 
But Robin Hood bent his noble bow, 

And fetched him back again. 

''You have found me an archer," said Robin Hood, 

"Which will make your wives to wring, wring their hands 

And wish you had never spoken the word, 
That I could not draw one string." 

The people that lived in fair Nottingham, 

Came running out amain, 
Supposing to have taken bold Robin Hood, 

With the foresters that were slain. 



i6 



Old English Ballads 

Some lost legs and some lost arms, 
And some did lose their blood ; 

But Robin he took up his noble bow, 
And is gone to the merry greenwood. 




I^ob) Eo&m llootr ixras beaten in a Jair JFtsfjt bg 

a STall Stranger, anti ti)us gainetr 

t|)e iSest i$lan in Ijis ISanlr 

Next to Robin Hood himself, Little John is the most inter- 
esting member of this company of free foresters and merry men. 
He was seven feet tall, and could run, jump, shoot, fight, or 
wrestle with the best of them. He was always the first to 
answer the bugle call of his master, and the last to leave the 
field when the enemy pressed hard upon them. If a dangerous 
deed was to be done. Little John was the man to do it, and if 
a hard blow was to be struck, the big, jolly second-in-command 
was the one to strike it. 

The following ballad tells how these two fast friends first met 
on a bridge made by a tree falling across a stream. Neither of 
them would turn back before the other, and so they fought with 
their staffs until Robin was knocked into the stream. A good 
fighter always gained the admiration of this leader of good 
fighters, and the stranger was at once invited to become a mem- 
ber of the band. The offer was accepted, they had a jolly feast, 
and the name John Little was changed to Little John. 

laobin llooti anti Hittle Sofin 

When Robin Hood was about twenty years old, 

With a hey down, down, and a down; 
He happened to meet Little John, 
A jolly, brisk blade, right fit for the trade^ 

For he was a lusty young man. 

17 



1 8 Old English Ballads 

Though he was called Little, his limbs they were large, 

And his stature was seven foot high ; 
Wherever he came, they quaked at his name, 

For soon he would make them to fly. 

How they came acquainted, I'll tell you in brief. 

If you would but listen awhile ; 
For this very jest, among all the rest, 

I think it may cause you to smile. 

They happened to meet on a long, narrow bridge, 

And neither of them would give way ; 
Quoth bold Robin Hood, and sturdily stood, 

^^I'll show you right Nottingham play.'' 



^^Thou talkest Uke a coward," the stranger replied; 

*^ Well armed with a long bow you stand. 
To shoot at my breast, while I, I protest, 

Have naught but a staff in my hand." 

'^The name of a coward," quoth Robin, *^I scorn. 

Wherefore my long bow Til lay by, 
And now, for thy sake, a staff will I take. 

The truth of thy manhood to try." 

Then Robin Hood stept to a thicket of trees. 
And chose him a staff of ground oak ; 

Now this being done, away he did run 
To the stranger, and merrily spoke : 



Robin Hood and Little John 19 

'^Lo ! see my staff is lusty and tough, 

Now here on the bridge we will play ; 
Whoever falls in, the other shall win 

The battle, and so we'll away." 

^^ With all my whole heart,'' the stranger replied, 

^'I scorn in the least to give out" ; 
This said, they fell to't without more dispute. 

And their staffs they did flourish about. 

At first Robin he gave the stranger a bang, 

So hard that he made his bones ring : 
The stranger he said, '^This must be repaid, 

I'll give you as good as you bring. 

^^So long as I am able to handle a staff. 

To die in your debt, friend, I scorn." 
Then to it each goes, and followed their blows. 

As if they'd been threshing of corn. 

The stranger gave Robin a crack on the crown, 

Which caused the blood to appear ; 
Then Robin, enraged, more fiercely engaged, 

And followed his blows more severe. 

So thick and so fast did he lay it on him, 

With a passionate fury and ire ; 
At every stroke he made him to smoke. 

As if he had been all on fire. 



20 Old English Ballads 

O then into fury the stranger he grew, 

And gave him a furious look, 
And with it a blow, that laid him full low, 

And tumbled him into the brook. 



*^I prithee, good fellow, where art thou now?" 

The stranger, in laughter, he cried. 
Quoth bold Robin Hood, '^Good faith, in the flood, 

And floating along with the tide. 

'^I needs must acknowledge thou art a brave soul, 

With thee I'll no longer contend ; 
For needs must I say, thou hast got the day, 

Our battle shall be at an end." 

• 

Then unto the bank he did presently wade, 

And pulled himself out by a thorn ; 
Which done, at the last he blew a loud blast 

Straightway on his fine bugle horn : 

The echo of which through the valleys did fly, 
At which his stout bowmen appeared. 

All clothed in green, most gay to be seen, 
So up to their master they steered. 



cc 



O, what is the matter?" quoth William Stutly, 
^^Good master, you are wet to the skin." 

No matter," quoth he, ^'the lad which you see 
In fighting hath tumbled me in." 




Little John 



Robin Hood and Little John 23 

^^He shall not go scot free/' the others replied. 

So straightway they were seizing him there, 
To duck him likewise; but Robin Hood cries, 

^' He is a stout fellow, forbear. 



^^ There's no one shall wrong thee, friend, be not afraid; 

These bowmen upon me do wait ; 
There's three score and nine ; if thou wilt be mine, 

Thou shalt have my livery straight, 

^^ And other accouterments fit for a man ; 

Speak up, jolly blade, never fear : 
I'll teach you also the use of the bow. 

To shoot at the fat fallow deer." 

^^0, here is my hand," the stranger replied, 
^^I'll serve you with all my whole heart ; 

My name is John Little, a man of good mettle ; 
Ne'er doubt me, for I'll play my part." 

^^His name shall be altered," quoth William Stutly, 

^^ And I will his godfather be : 
Prepare, then, a feast, and none of the least, 

For we will be merry," quoth he. 

They presently fetched him a brace of fat does, 

With humming strong liquor likewise ; 
They loved what was good ; so in the green wood, 

This pretty sweet babe they baptize. 



24 Old English Ballads 

He was, I must tell you, but seven foot high, 

And, may be, an ell in the waist ; 45 inches 

A sweet pretty lad : much feasting they had ; 
Bold Robin the christening graced, 

With all his bowmen, which stood in a ring, 

And were of the Nottingham breed ; 
Brave Stutly came then, with seven yeomen, 

And did in this manner proceed : 

'^This infant was called John Little,'' quoth he; 

^' Which name shall be changed anon : 
The words we'll transpose ; so wherever he goes, 

His name shall be called Little John." 

They all with a shout made the elements ring ; 

So soon as the ofl&ce was o'er, 
To feasting they went, with true merriment, 

And tippled strong liquor gillore. plenty 

Then Robin he took the pretty sweet babe, 

And clothed him from top to the toe. 
In garments of green, most gay to be seen, 

And gave him a curious long bow. 

^^Thou shalt be an archer as well as the best. 

And range in the green wood with us ; 
Where we'll not want gold nor silver, behold, 

While others have aught in their purse. 



Rohin Hood and Little John 25 

^^We live here like 'squires, or lords of renown, 

Without e'er a foot of free land ; 
We feast on good cheer, with wine, ale, and beer, 

And everything at our command." 

Then music and dancing did finish the day ; 

At length, when the sun waxed low, 
Then all the whole train the grove did refrain, 

And unto their caves they did go. 

And so, ever after, as long as he lived, 

Although he was proper and tall. 
Yet, nevertheless^ the truth to express. 

Still Little John they did him call. 



?|oto Eo&tn ^ook a l^oung ©amsel ^toag from 

an ©15 3^nisi)t anU matie l)er t})e Brttie of ti)e 

JHan S})e ILofart 

One of the ways in which these bands of jolly woodsmen 
made the time pass merrily was to tell the stories and sing the 
songs of their own daring deeds, and those of other brave men. 
Allin a Dale was the minstrel of Robin Hood's band. He 
could play on the harp, and delighted to sing the ballads which 
told of the bold deeds of Robin Hood and other free foresters 
all over England. But here is a ballad which some one else has 
sung, telling how Robin Hood first met Allin a Dale, who was 
sad because an old knight had stolen his sweetheart away from 
him. Then Robin Hood and his merry men went to the church, 
rescued the young girl away from the old knight, made Little 
John act the part of the priest, married the girl to Allin a Dale, 
and then carried ofif the happy pair to the depths of the merry 
green wood. 

Eobin l^ooU anlr ^llin a Bale 

Come listen to me, you gallants so free, 

All you that love mirth for to hear, 
And I will tell you of a bold outlaw. 

That lived in Nottinghamshire. 

As Robin Hood in the forest stood, 

All under the green-wood tree, 
There he was aware of a brave young man, 

As fine as fine might be. 

26 



Robin Hood and Allin a Dale 27 



The youngster was clothed in scarlet red, 

In scarlet fine and gay ; 
And he did frisk it over the plain, 

And chanted a roundelay. 

As Robin Hood next morning stood 

Amongst the leaves so gay, 
There did he espy the same young man 

Come drooping along the way. 

The scarlet he wore the day before, 

It was clean cast away ; 
And at every step he fetched a sigh, 

''Alack and well a day !" 

Then stepped forth brave Little John^ 

And Midge, the miller's son, 
Which made the young man bend his bow, 

When as he see them come. 



''Stand off, stand off,'' the young man said, 

"What is your will with me ?" 
"You must come before our master straight, 

Under yon green- wood tree." 

And when he came bold Robin before, 

Robin asked him courteously, 
"O hast thou any money to spare 

For my merry men and me ? " 



28 Old English Ballads 

^'I have no money," the young man said, 

''But five shilHngs and a ring ; 
And that I have kept this seven long years, 

To have it at my wedding. 

''Yesterday I should have married a maid, 

But she is now from me tane, taken 

And chosen to be an old knight's delight. 

Whereby my poor heart is slain." 

"What is thy name?" then said Robin Hood, 

"Come tell me, without any fail :" 
"By the faith of my body," then said the young 
man. 
My name it is Allin a Dale." 



a 



"What will you give me," said Robin Hood, 

"In ready gold or fee, 
To help thee to thy true love again. 

And deliver her unto thee ? " 

"I have no money," then quoth the young man, 

"No ready gold nor fee, 
But I will swear upon a book 

Thy true servant for to be." 

"How many miles is it to thy true love ? 

Come tell me without any guile :" deceit 

"By the faith of my body," then said the young 
man, 

"It is but five little mile." 



^? 11/" -^ /#f t4^=«^*^^^ 




^^*«>- 



Allin a Dale and his Bride 






'■(^-^ 



Robin Hood and Allin a Dale 31 

Then Robin he hastened over the plain, 

He did neither stint nor hn stop nor stay 

Until he came unto the church, 

Where AlUn should keep his wedding. 

^^What dost thou here?" the bishop then said, 

*'I pray thee now tell unto me :" 
^^I am a bold harper," quoth Robin Hood, 

^^And the best in the north country." 

^^0 welcome, O welcome," the bishop he said, 

'^That music best pleaseth me:" 
^' You shall have no music," quoth Robin Hood, 
^^Till the bride and the bridegroom I see." 

With that came in a wealthy knight, 

Which was both grave and old, 
And after him a finikin lass fine 

Did shine like the glistening gold. 

^^This is not a fit match," quoth bold Robin Hood, 

^^That you do seem to make here; 
For since we are come unto the church. 

The bride shall choose her own dear." 

Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, 

And blew blasts two or three ; 
When four and twenty bowmen bold 

Came leaping over the lea. 



32 Old English Ballads 

And when they came into the churchyard, 

Marching all in a row, 
The first man was AUin a Dale, 

To give bold Robin his bow. 

^^This is thy true love,'' Robin he said, 

^^ Young Allin, as I hear say; 
And you shall be married at this same time, 

Before we depart away.'' 

^^That shall not be," the bishop he said, 

''For thy word shall not stand ; 
They shall be three times asked in the church, 

As the law is of our land." 

Robin Hood pulled off the bishop's coat, 

And put it upon Little John ; 
''By the faith of my body," then Robin said, 

"This cloth doth make thee a man." 



When Little John went into the quire, choir 

The people began to laugh ; 
He asked them seven times in the church, 

Lest three times should not be enough. 

''Who gives me this maid?" then said Little John; 

Quoth Robin, "That do I, 
And he that takes her from Allin a Dale 

Full dearly he shall her buy." 



Robin Hood and Allin a Dale 



i2> 



And thus having ended this merry wedding, 
The bride looked as fresh as a queen, 

And so they returned to the merry green wood, 
Amongst the leaves so green. 




Poor SEitioto antr Eescueti i)er K\}xtt cSons 
from t\}t ^\jtxiU of i^otttngfjam 

Robin Hood and his men were always kind to the poor 
yeomen who Uved about Sherwood Forest, and especially to 
those who had done them some little act of kindness. This 
ballad tells how they rescued the three sons of a poor widow 
out of the clutches of the sheriff of Nottingham. The three 
men had been condemned to die because they had killed the 
king's deer, and Robin Hood, having exchanged clothes with 
a beggar, asked to be allowed to do the work of the hang- 
man. It was the custom to give the clothing and small coins 
of the one who was hanged to the person who acted as hang- 
man, and this hateful office was often sought by beggars and 
others who were very poor. The sheriff, thinking that 
this beggar was anxious to get the clothes and money of the 
condemned men, at once consented, but the bold outlaw 
mounted the scaffold, and blew three loud blasts upon his 
bugle horn, which promptly called his men about him. They 
released the three yeomen, and hanged the sheriff upon the 
gallows which he had built for others. 

laotitn llootf rescuing t|)e SEilioto's ^f)ree Sons 

There were twelve months in all the year, 

As I hear many men say, 
But the merriest month in all the year 

Is the merry month of May. 

34 



Robin Hood rescuing the Widow^s Three Sons 35 

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, 

With a link a down and a day, 
And there he met a silly old woman, simple 

Was weeping on the way. 

''What news ? what news, thou silly old woman ? 

What news hast thou for me?" 
Said she, ''There's my three sons in Nottingham town 

To-day condemned to die.'' 

"Oh, what have they done ?'' said Robin Hood, 

^^I pray thee tell to me.'' 
"Oh, it is for killing the king's fallow deer, 

That they are condemned to die." 

"Dost thou not mind, old woman," he said, 

"How thou madest me sup and dine ? 
By the truth of my body," quoth bold Robin Hood, 

"You could not tell it in better time." 



Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone. 

With a link a down and a day, 
And there he met with a silly old beggar. 

Was walking along the highway. 

"What news ? what news, thou silly old man ? 

What news, I do thee pray ?" 
Said he, "Three squires in Nottingham town 

Are condemned to die this day." 



36 Old English Ballads 

^Xome change thy apparel with me, old man, 
Come change thy apparel for mine ; 

Here are forty shilHngs in good silver, 
Go drink it in beer or wine." 



*'0, thine apparel is good/' he said, 
*^ And mine is ragged and torn ; 

Wherever you go, wherever you ride, 
Laugh not an old man to scorn, 



jj 



*^Come change thy apparel with me, old churl, rough-looking 

Come change thy apparel with mine ; 
Here are twenty pieces of good broad gold, 

Go feast thy brethren with wine." 

Then he put on the old man's hat, 

It stood full high on the crown : 
*^The first bold bargain that I come at, 

It shall make thee come down." 

Then he put on the old man's cloak, 
Was patched black, blue, and red ; 
He thought it no shame all the day long. 

To wear the bags of bread. bags for carry- 

ing bread 

Then he put on the old man's breeks, breeches 

Was patched from leg to side : 
''By the truth of my body," bold Robin did say, 

''This man loved httle pride." 



Robin Hood rescuing the Widow's Three Sons 37 

Then he put on the old man's hose, 

Were patched from knee to wrist : ankle 

''By the truth of my body," said bold Robin Hood, 

''I'd laugh if I had any list." desire 

Then he put on the old man's shoes, 

Were patched both beneath and aboon ; above 

Then Robin Hood swore a solemn oath, 

"It's good habit that makes a man." 

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, 

With a link a down and a down. 
And there he met with the proud sheriff, 

Was walking along the town. 

"A boon, a boon," says jolly Robin, 

"A boon I beg of thee ; 
That as for the death of these three squires, 

Their hangman I may be.". 

"Soon granted, soon granted," says Master Sheriff, 

" Soon granted unto thee ; 
And you shall have all their gay clothing. 

And all their white money." silver 

"0 1 will have none of their gay clothing. 

And none of their white money, 
But I'll have three blasts on my bugle horn, 

That their souls to heaven may flee." 



38 Old English Ballads 

Then Robin Hood mounted the gallows so high, 

Where he blew both loud and shrill, 
Till a hundred and ten of Robin Hood's men 

Came trooping over the hill. 

^^ Whose men are these?'' says Master Sheriff, 
^^ Whose men are these? Come tell unto me.'' 

'^O they are mine, but none of thine, 
And are come for the squires all three." 

They took the gallows from the slack, valley 

They set it up in the g]en, 
They hanged the proud sheriff on that, 

And released their own three men. 



I^oixi Eobm ?|ootr fougl)t toitij jFriar 

Kntk anU gatneU a i^rtest for 

i)ts BanD of JHerrg |Hen 

Friar Tuck was the priest of Robin Hood's band, and as jolly 
a fellow and as good a woodsman as any of them. He could 
shoot as straight an arrow or strike as heavy a blow with his 
fist as could Little John himself. He was called the Curtal 
Friar because, when he lived at Fountain Abbey, he kept a num- 
ber of large dogs. He was not allowed to hunt deer with them, 
and so had to have their tails cut off, for that was the law. 
For this reason they were called curtal dogs. But I imagine 
that they could pull down a stag in spite of the loss of their tails, 
and I suspect that the jolly friar who could draw so good a bow 
had venison for his dinner more often than the law allowed, or 
the king's keepers knew. 

i^obin i^ootr anU tfje Curtal jFriar 

In summer time, when leaves grow green, 

And flowers are fresh and gay, 
Robin Hood and his merry men 

Were all disposed to play. 

Then some would leap, and some would run. 

And some would use artillery ; 
'^ Which of you can a good bow draw, 

A good archer for to be ? 

39 



40 Old English Ballads 

'^ Which of you can kill a buck, 

Or who can kill a doe ? 
Or who can kill a hart of greece fat hart 

Five hundred foot him fro' ?'' from 



Will Scarlet he did kill a buck, 

And Midge did kill a doe ; 
And Little John killed a hart of greece 

Five hundred foot him fro'. 

^^ God's blessing on thy heart," said Robin, 

^^That shot such a shot for me ; 
I would ride my horse a hundred miles, 

To find one could match thee." 

This caused Will Scarlet to laugh, 

He laughed full heartily : 
^^ There lives a friar in Fountain Abbey, 

Will beat both him and thee. 

*'The curtal friar in Fountain Abbey, 

Well can a strong bow draw ; 
He will beat you and your yeomen, 

Set them all in a row." 

Robin Hood put on his harness good, 

On his head a cap of steel, 
Broad sword and buckler by his side; 

And they became him weel. well 




./*y//f. 



-^ ■ ■■,x''^i^s^'^ 



Friar Tuck 



I 



Rohin Hood and the Curtal Friar 43 

He took his bow into his hand, 

It was of a trusty tree, 
With a sheaf of arrows at his belt, 

And to Fountain Dale went he. 



And coming to fair Fountain Dale, 

No farther would he ride: 
There he was aware of the curtal friar 

Walking by the water side. 

The friar had on a harness good, 

On his head a cap of steel, 
Broad sword and buckler by his side ; 

And they became him weel. 

Robin Hood lighted from off his horse. 

And tied him to a thorn ; 
^^ Carry me over the water, thou curtal friar, 

*'0r else thy life's forlorn." lost 

The friar took Robin Hood on his back. 

Deep water did he bestride, 
And neither spake good word or bad. 

Till he came on the other side. 

Lightly leaped Robin off the friar's back ; 

The friar said to him again, 
^Xarry me over the water, fine fellow, 

Or it shall breed thy pain.'' 



44 Old English Ballads 

Robin Hood took the friar on his back, 
Deep water he did bestride, 

And spake neither good word nor bad, 
Till he came to the other side. 



Lightly leaped the friar off Robin Hood's back ; 

Robin Hood said to him again, 
^Xarry me over the water, thou curtal friar, 

Or it shall breed thy pain.'' 

The friar took Robin Hood on his back again, 

And stepped up to his knee ; 
And till he came to the middle of the stream. 

Neither good nor bad spake he. 

And coming to the middle of the stream. 

Then he threw Robin in ; 
And, ^Xhoose thee, choose thee, my fine fellow, 

Whether thou wilt sink or swim." 

Robin Hood swam to a bush of broom. 

The friar to a willow wand; 
Bold Robin Hood is gone to the shore, 

And took his bow in his hand. 

One of his best arrows under his belt, 

At the friar he let fly ; 
The curtal friar with his steel buckler 

Did put his arrow by. 



Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar 45 

''Shoot on, shoot on, thou fine fellow, 

Shoot as thou hast begun ; 
If thou shoot here a summer's day, 

Thy mark I will not shun/' 



Robin Hood shot on so passing well, 

Till his arrows all were gone ; 
They took their swords and steeJ bucklers 

And fought with might and main 

From ten o'clock that very day. 

Till four in the afternoon ; 
Then Robin Hood came on his knees. 

Of the friar to beg a boon. 

^'A boon, a boon, thou curtal friar, 

I beg it on my knee ; 
Give me leave to set my horn to my mouth, 

And to blow blasts three." 

''That I will do," said the curtal friar, 
''Of thy blasts I have no doubt ; 

I hope thou wilt blow so passing well 
That both thy eyes drop out." 

Robin Hood set his horn to his mouth, 

And blew out blasts three ; 
Half a hundred yeomen, with their bows bent. 

Came ranging over the lea. 



46 Old English Ballads 

''Whose men are these," said the friar, 

''That come so hastily?'' 
*' These are mine/' said Robin Hood, 

"Friar, what's that to thee?" 



iC 



A boon, a boon," said the curtal friar, 
"The hke I gave to thee ; 
Give me leave to set my fist to my mouth 
And to whistle whistles three." 



"That will I do," said Robin Hood, 
"Or else I were to blame ; 

Three whistles on a friar's fist 
Would make me glad and fain." 



The friar he set his fist to his mouth, 
And whistled him whistles three ; 

Half a hundred good band dogs 
Came running over the lea. 

"Here is for every man a dog, 

And I myself for thee." 
"Nay, by my faith," said Robin Hood, 

"Friar, that may not be." 

Little John had a bow in his hand. 
And he shot with might and main ; 

Soon half a score of the friar's dogs. 
Lay dead upon the plain. 



Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar 47 

^^Hold thy hand, good fellow," said the curtal friar, 

^^Thy master and I will agree, 
And we will have new orders taken, 

With all the haste that may be." 

'^If thou wilt forsake fair Fountain Dale, 

And Fountain Abbey free, 
Every Sunday throughout the year 

A noble shall be thy fee." 

The curtal friar had kept Fountain Dale, 

Seven long years and more. 
There was neither knight, lord, nor earl. 

Could make him yield before. 



J^oto Eo&in ?^0otr fougfjt lotti) a Jorester 
anti Jounti a SEife 

Maid Marian was Robin Hood's wife. They are supposed 
to have been lovers before Robin was forced to flee from the 
king's officers and take up his Hfe in the forest. Then Marian 
disguised herself as a page and wandered through the forest 
in search of her lover. Of course Robin was changed and neither 
knew the other when they met. They fought, and only dis- 
covered the mistake when Robin spoke and Marian recognized 
his voice. 

The ballad was probably written long after the others, for 
you will notice that it says that Robin Hood was the Earl of 
Huntington, who had been outlawed and driven into the woods. 
He was not a nobleman, but a bold and daring yeoman, yet we 
are glad to have this story of how he found a wife. 

iao&tn lloolf antr JHattr JHarian 

A bonny fine maid of a noble degree, 

Maid Marian called by name. 
Did live in the north, of excellent worth, 

For she was a gallant dame. 

For favor and face and beauty most rare, 

Queen Helen she did excel; 
For Marian then was praised of all men 

That did in the country dwell. 

48 



Rohin Hood and Maid Marian 49 

The Earl of Huntington, nobly born, 

That came of noble blood, 
To Marian went, with good intent, 

By the name of Robin Hood. 

With kisses sweet their red lips did meet, 

For she and the earl did agree ; 
In every place, they kindly embrace, 

With love and sweet unity. 

But fortune bearing these lovers a spite 

They soon were forced to part. 
To the merry green wood then went Robin Hood, 

With a sad and sorrowful heart. 



And Marian, poor soul, was troubled in mind, 

For the absence of her friend ; 
With finger in eye, she often did cry, 

And his person did much commend. 

Perplexed and vexed, and troubled in mind. 

She dressed herself like a page, 
And ranged the wood to find Robin Hood, 

The bravest of men in that age. 

With quiver and bow, buckler and all, 
Thus armed was Marian most bold. 

Still wandering about to find Robin out, 
Whose person was better than gold. 



50 Old English Ballads 

But Robin Hood he himself had disguised, 
And Marian was strangely attired, 

That they proved foes, and so fell to blows. 
Whose valor bold Robin admired. 



They drew out their swords and to cutting they went, 

At least an hour or more. 
That the blood ran apace from bold Robin's face, 

And Marian was wounded sore. 



^^O hold thy hand, hold thy hand," said Robin Hood, 

^' And thou shalt be one of my string. 
To range in the wood with bold Robin Hood, 

And hear the sweet nightingale sing." 

When Marian did hear the voice of her love, 

Herself she did quickly discover. 
And with kisses sweet she did him greet, 

Like to a most loyal lover. 

And Little John took his bow in his hand, 

And wandered in the wood, 
To kill the deer, and make good cheer, 

For Marian and Robin Hood. 

A stately banquet they had full soon, 

All in a shaded bower. 
Where venison sweet they had to eat, 

And were merry that present hour. 



Robin Hood and Maid Marian 



51 



In solid content together they lived, 

With all their yeomen gay ; 
They lived by their hands, without any lands, 

And so they did many a day. 







|gob3 EotJin ?^ootr fougfit b3it!j ffiug of 

ffiftsborne anU scoreU anotljer Ftctorg 

ober tl)e Sheriff of Notttngfjam 

The following ballad shows how faithfully Robin Hood and 
his men fought for one another against the king's oflficers, and 
what bold measures they often used in order to get the better 
of their old enemy, the sheriff of Nottingham. Guy of Gisborne 
had been sent out to capture Robin Hood, but did not know the 
outlaw when he saw him. They met and had a shooting match, 
in which Robin showed such skill as to astonish his guest. 
When their names were given, they fell to fighting and continued 
until Guy was killed. Robin then exchanged clothes with the 
dead man, took Guy's place in the sheriff's party and rescued 
Little John who had been captured and was about to be hanged. 

l^obtn l^ooti anU (Cug of ffits&orne 



i( 



Now, by my faye," said jolly Robin, faith 

^^ A dream I had this night : 
I dreamed me of two wight yeomen strong 

That fast with me did fight. 

^^ Me thought they did me beat and bind, 

And they took my bow me fro' ; from 

If I be Robin alive in this land, 

I'll be wroken on them two." revenged 

52 



Robin Hood and Guy of Gishorne 

^^ Dreams are swift, master," quoth John, 
^^ As the wind blows o'er the hill ; 

For if it be never so loud this night, 
To-morrow it may be still." 



53 

changeable 



^^Buske ye, bowne ye, my merry men all, 

And John shall go with me, 
For I'll go seek those wight yeomen. 

In the greenwood where they be." 



dress and 
make ready 



Then they cast on their gowns of green, 
And took their bows each one ; 

And they away to the green forest 
A shooting forth are gone. 

Until they came to the merr>^ greenwood. 
Where they were gladdest to be, 

There were they aware of a wight yeoman, 
His body leaned to a tree. 



A sword and a dagger he wore by his side, 

Of many a man the bane ; 
And he was clad in his capul-hide. 

Top and tail and mane. 



hurt 
horsehide 



^^ Stand you still, master," quoth Little John, 

'^ Under this tree so green. 
And I will go to yon wight yeoman 

To know what he doth mean." 



54 



Old English Ballads 



'^Ah ! John, by me thou settest no store, 

And that I fairly find; 
How oft send I my men before, 

And tarry myself behind ? 

^^It takes no cunning a knave to know, 

If you but hear him speak ; 
If it were not for bursting of my bow, 

John, I thy head would break." 



As often words they breeden bale, 
So they parted, Robin and John ; 

And John is gone to Barnesdale ; 
The gates he knoweth each one. 



make mischief 



But when he came to Barnesdale, 
Great heaviness there he had. 

For he found two of his own fellows 
Were slain both in a slade, 

And Scarlet he was flying a-foot 
Fast over stock and stone. 

For the sheriff with seven score men 
Fast after him is gone. 



open space, 
glade 



^^One shot now I will shoot," quoth John, 
^^With Christ his might and main; 

I'll make yonder fellow that flies so fast. 
To stop he shall be fain." 



glad 



Rohin Hood and Guy of Gishorne 55 

Then John bent up his long bend-bow, 

And fettled him to shoot, made ready 

The bow was made of a tender bough, 
And fell down to his foot. 



^^Woe worth, woe worth thee, wicked wood. 

That ere thou grew on a tree ; 
For now this day thou art my loss, 

When thou my gain should be.'' 

His shoot it was but loosely shot, 

Yet flew not the arrow in vain, 
For it met one of the sheriff's men, 

Good Wilham a Trent was slain. 

It had been better for William a Trent 

To have been abed with sorrow. 
Than to be that day in the greenwood slade, glade 

To meet with Little John's arrow. 

But as it is said, when men be met 

Five can do more than three. 
The sheriff hath taken Little John, 

And bound him fast to a tree. 

« 
'^Thou shalt be drawn by dale and down. 

And hanged high on a hill ; " 
** But thou mayest fail of thy purpose," quoth John, 

^^ If it be God's will." 



56 



Old English Ballads 



Let us leave talking of Little John, 

And think of Robin Hood, 
How he is gone to the wight yeoman, 

Where under the leaves he stood. 

^^ Good morrow, good fellow," said Robin so fair, 
^^Good morrow, good fellow," quoth he, 

^' Methinks by this bow you bear'st in thy hand, 
A good archer thou shouldst be." 



I have lost my way," quoth the yeoman, 
^'And of my morning tyde," 
I'll lead thee through the wood," said Robin, 
^^Good fellow, I'll be thy guide." 



time of the 
morning 



^' I seek an outlaw," the stranger said, 

''Men call him Robin Hood; 
Rather I'd meet with that proud outlaw 

Than forty pound so good." 

''Now come with me, thou wight yeoman. 
And Robin thou soon shalt see ; 

But first let us some pastime find 
Under the greenwood tree. 



"First let us some mastery make 

Among the woods so even ; 
We may chance to meet with Robin Hood 

Here at some unset steven." 



unexpected 
time 







Guy of Gisborne 



Robin Hood and Guy of Gishorne 



59 



They cut them down two summer shrubs, 
That grew both under a breere, 

And set them threescore rod in twain, 
To shoot at the pricks y-fere. 

^^Lead on, good fellow,'' quoth Robin Hood, 

^^Lead on, I do bid thee/' 
^^Nay, by my faith, good fellow," he said, 

''My leader thou shalt be." 



thorn 
60 rods apart 

target to- 
gether 



The first time Robin shot at the prick. 
He missed but an inch it fro', 

The yeoman he was an archer good, 
But he could never shoot so. 



long distance 
target 



The second shot had the wight yeoman. 
He shot within the garland ; 

But Robin he shot far better than he. 
For he clave the good prick wand. 



ring about 

the foot of 

target 

wand set up 
as a target 



''A blessing upon thy heart," he said, 
''Good fellow, thy shooting is good; 

For an thy heart be as good as thy hand. 
Thou were better than Robin Hood. 



"Now tell me thy name, good fellow," said he, 

"Under the leaves of lyne" the linden tree 

"Nay, by my faith," quoth Robin, 
"Till thou hast told me thine." 



6o 



Old English Ballads 



^'I dwell by dale and down/' quoth he, 
^^And Robin to take I'm sworn; 

And when I am called by my right name, 
I am Guy of good Gisborne.'' 

'^My dwelling is in this wood/' says Robin, 

^^By thee I set right naught; 
I am Robin Hood of Barnesdale; 

Whom thou so long hast sought/- 



a small town 
in Yorkshire 



care nothing 
for you 



He that had neither been kith nor kin 
Might have seen a full fair sight, 

To see how together these yeomen went 
With blades both brown and bright; 



no relative 



To see how these yeomen together fought 
Two hours of a summer's day. 

Yet neither Robin Hood nor Sir Guy 
Them fettled to fly away. 



made ready 



Robin was ignorant of a root, 

And stumbled at that tyde, 
And Guy was quick and nimble withal, 

And hit him o'er the left side. 



time 



Robin thought on Our Lady dear, 

And soon leapt up again, 
And straight he came with a backward stroke 

And he Sir Guy hath slain. 



Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne 6i 

Robin did off his gown of green, 

And on Sir Guy did it throw, 
And he put on that capul-hide, 

That clad him top to toe. 

^^The bow, the arrows, and Httle horn 

Now with me I will bear ; 
For I will away to Barnesdale, 

To see how my men do fare." 

Robin Hood set Guy's horn to his mouth, 

And a loud blast in it did blow ; 
That was heard by the sheriff of Nottingham 

As he leaned under a lowe. hill 

'^Hearken, hearken," said the sheriff, 

*'I hear now tidings good. 
For yonder I hear Sir Guy's horn blow, 

And he hath slain Robin Hood. 

'^Yonder I hear Sir Guy's horn blow, 

It blows so well in tyde, time 

And yonder comes that wight yeoman, 

Clad in his capul-hide. 

^Xome hither, come hither, thou good Sir Guy, 

Ask what thou wilt of me." 
^^Oh, I will none of thy gold," said Robin, 

^'Nor I will none of thy fee. 



62 



Old English Ballads 



'^But now I have slain the master," he says 

''Let me go strike the knave; 
For this is all the reward I ask, 

For no other will I have." 



servant 



*'Thou art a madman," said the sheriff, 
''Thou shouldst have had a knight's fee; 

But seeing thy asking hast been so bad, 
Well granted it shall be." 



When Little John heard his master speak, 
Well knew he it was his steven ; 

''Now shall I be loosed," quoth Little John, 
''As there is a God in heaven." 



voice 



Fast Robin he hied him to Little John, 
He thought to loose him belive, 

The sheriff and all his company 
Fast after him did drive. 



at once 



"Stand back, stand back," said Robin; 

"Why draw you me so near ? 
It was never the use in our country, 

One's shrift another should hear." 



last prayer 



But Robin pulled forth an Irish knife, 
And loosed John hand and foot, 

And gave him Sir Guy's bow into his hand. 
And bade it be his boot. 



help 



Robin Hood and Guy of Gishorne 63 

Then John he took Guy's bow in his hand, 

His bolts and arrows each one ; 
When the sheriff saw Little John bend his bow, 

He fettled him to be gone. hastened 

Towards his house in Nottingham town 

He fled full fast away, 
And so did all the company ; 

Not one behind would stay. 

But he could neither run so fast. 

Nor away so fast could ride, 
But Little John with an arrow so broad 

He shot him into the side. 



?^ob3 Eo&tn l^ootf, being Sick, toas Blctr 

to ©rati) bg \}is Cousin, a l^un 

of Itirfeles^Ijall 

At the time of these ballads, one third of all the lands in 
England was owned by the abbeys and churches, and there was 
nothing which pleased Robin Hood so much as to be able to 
relieve an abbot or a bishop of his money. But the church 
people got even at last, when he went to a nun to be bled for 
his illness. She bled him so much that he died of it. 

Little John wanted to burn the nunnery out of revenge, 
but Robin would not listen to it, because he had never done harm 
to women. They buried him with his trusty bow by his side, 
with a green sod under his head, and under the beautiful trees 
that he loved so well. 

i^obin l^ooti's ©rati) anU iSurial 

When Robin Hood and Little John, 

Went o'er yon bank of broom 
Said Robin Hood bold to Little John, 

^'We have shot for many a pound; 

^^But I am not able to shoot one shot more, 

My broad arrow^s will not flee ; 
But I have a cousin lives down below, 

Please God, she will bleed me." 

64 



. Rohin EoGd''s Death and Burial 65 

Now Robin is to fair Kirkley gone, 

rVs fast as he can win; go 

But before he came there, as we do hear, 

He was taken very ill. 

And when that he came to fair Kirkley-hall, 

He knocked all at the ring, on the door 

But none was so ready as his cousin herself 

For to let bold Robin in. 



^^ Will you please to sit down, cousin Robin," she said, 

^^ And drink some beer with me ?'' 
^^No, I will neither eat nor drink. 

Till I am blooded by thee.'' 

'^Well, I have a room, cousin Robin," she said, 

'^ Which you did never see, 
And if you please to walk therein. 

You blooded by me shall be." 

She took him by the lily-white hand. 

And led him to a private room, • 
And there she blooded bold Robin Hood, 

While one drop of blood would run. 

She blooded him in a vein of the arm. 

And locked him up in the room ; 
Then did he bleed all the livelong day. 

Until the next day at noon. 



66 Old English Ballads 

He then bethought him of a casement door, 

Thinking for to be gone ; 
He was so weak he could not leap, 

He could not get him down. 

He then bethought him of his bugle horn, 

Which hung low down to his knee ; 
He set his horn unto his mouth, 

And blew out weak blasts three. 

Then Little John, when hearing him, 

As he sat under a tree, 
'^I fear my master is now near dead. 

He blows so wearily." 

Then Little John to fair Kirkley is gone, 

As fast as he can dree ; endure 

But when he came to Kirkley-hall, 

He broke locks two or three; 



Until he came bold Robin to. 

Then he fell on his knee : 
^'A boon, a boon," cries Little John, 
Master, I beg of thee." 



a 



'^What is that boon," quoth Robin Hood, 
^'Little John, thou begs of me ?" 

*^It is to burn fair Kirkley-hall, 
And all their nunnery." 



Rohin Hoo(Vs Death and Burial 67 



a 



Now nay, now nay/' quoth Robin Hood, 
^'That boon I'll not grant thee ; 
I never hurt woman in all my life, 
Nor man in woman's company. 

^^I never hurt fair maid in all my time. 

Nor at my end shall it be ; 
But give me my bent bow in my hand, 

And a broad arrow I'll let flee ; 

" And where this arrow is taken up. 
There shall my grave digged be. 

Lay me a green sod under my head, 
And another at my feet ; 

^^ And lay my bent bow by my side. 

Which was my music sweet ; 
And make my grave of gravel and green. 

Which is most right and meet. 

'^Let me have length and breadth enough. 
With imder my head a green sod ; 

That they may say, when I am dead, 
Here lies bold Robin Hood." 

These words they readily promised him. 

Which did bold Robin please ; 
And there they buried bold Robin Hood, 

Near to the fair Kirkleys. 



knottier iSantr of Jrec jForesters 
in anortjer JForest 

The Forest of Inglewood was situated in the north of 
England, in the country of Cumberland. It extended from 
Penrith on the south to Carlisle on the north, a distance of 
twenty miles, and is described as ^'a goodly great forest, 
full of woods, red deer and fallow, wild swine, and all 
manner of wild animals." It, too, had its bands of yeomen 
who had been outlawed because they had broken the cruel 
forest laws, and who, like Robin Hood, fought the king's 
officers, and took money from the rich, but who were always 
kind to the poor, and never harmed a woman or a child. 
Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and WilKam of Cloudesly 
were the leaders of a band that was as well known to the 
sheriff of Carlisle as was Robin Hood's band to the sheriff 
of Nottingham. 



68 



^Uam Bell, (fTlgm of tije Clougfj, antr Smilliam 
of Cloutieslo. 

The first part of this ballad tells how William of Cloudesly, 
going to pay a visit to his wife and children in the town of 
Carlisle, was betrayed to the sheriff by an old woman whom 
William had kept in his house, out of charity, for seven years. 
The house was beset, but William defended himself so well that 
they could not take him. Then they set fire to his house, but he 
dropped his wife and children to the ground, sprang among the 
people and fought with his sword so fiercely that he was only 
taken by throwing windows and doors upon him. As the sheriff 
was preparing to hang him, a little boy, who had been the keeper 
of Alice's swine, slipped out of the town and sped away to the 
forest to tell William's companions of the danger he was in. 

The First Part 

Merry it was in the green forest 

Among the leaves so green, 
When men hunt east and men hunt west 

With bows and arrows keen. 

To raise the deer out of their den, — 

Such sights have oft been seen, — 
As by three yeomen of the north country. 

By them it is I mean. 

69 



70 



Old English Ballads 



The one of them named Adam Bell, 
Another Clym of the Clough, 

The third was William of Cloudesly, 
An archer good enough. 



pronounced 
ClufE 



They were outlawed for venison, 
These yeomen every one ; 

They swore them brethren on a day 
To Inglewood for to gone. 



for killing 
deer 



to go 



Now lith and listen, gentlemen, 
That of mirth loveth to hear ! 

Two of them were single men. 
The third had a wedded fere. 



hearken 



wife 



William was the wedded man. 
Much more then was his care. 

He said to his brethren upon a day, 
To Carlisle he would fare. 



go 



There to speak with fair Alice, his wife. 
And with his children three. 

^'By my troth,'' said Adam Bell, 
'^Not by the counsel of me; 



'^For if ye go to CarHsle, brother. 
And from this wild wood wend, 

If that the justice do you take. 
Your life is at an end." 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 71 

^^If that I come not to-morrow, brother, 

By prime to you again, by four 

Trust not else but that I am taken ^''^^'"''^ 

Or else that I am slain." 



He took his leave of his brethren two, 

And to Carlisle he is gone ; 
There he knocked at his own window 

Shortly and anon. 

*^ Where be you, fair AHce ? " he said, 
^^My wife and children three ? 

Lightly let in thine own husband, 
William of Cloudesly.'' 

'^Alas ! '' then said fair Alice, 

And sighed wondrous sore, 
^'This place hath been beset for you 

This half a year and more.'' 

''Now am I here," said Cloudesly, 

''I would that in I were ; 
Now fetch us meat and drink enough, 

And let us make good cheer." 

She fetched him meat and drink plenty. 

Like a true wedded wife ; 
And pleased him with that she had, 

Whom she loved as her life. 



72 Old English Ballads 

There lay an old wife in the place, 

A little beside the fire, 
Which WiUiam had kept of charity 

More than seven year. 

Up she rose, and walked full still, — quietly 

Evil may she speed therefor ! — 
For she had set no foot on ground 

In seven year before. 

She went into the justice hall 

As fast as she could hie ; 
^^This night,'! she said, ^^is come to town 

William of Cloudesly.'' 

Thereof the justice was full fain, glad 

And so was the sheriff also ; 

^^Thou shalt not come hither, dame, for naught ; nothing 

Thy meed thou shalt have ere thou go.'' reward 

They gave to her a right good gown, — 

Of scarlet it was, as I heard sain, — said 

She took the gift, and home she went, 

And couched her down again. 

They raised the town of merry Carlisle 

In all the haste they can. 
And came thronging to William's house 

As fast as they might gone. go 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 73 

There they beset that good yeoman 

Round about on every side ; 
Wilham heard great noise of the folks 

That hitherward fast hied. 

Alice opened a back window 

And looked all about ; 
She was 'ware of the justice and sheriff both, 

And with them a full great rout. 

^^Alas, treason !'' then cried Alice; 

^'Ever who may thou be ! 
Go into my chamber, husband," she said, 
Sweet Wilham of Cloudesly." 



a 



He took his sword and his buckler, 
His bow and his children three ; 

He went into his strongest chamber. 
Where he thought the surest to be. 

Fair Alice followed like a lover true. 
With a poleax in her hand ; 

^^He shall be dead that cometh in 
This door^ while I may stand.'' 

Cloudesly bent a right good bow, 
That was of a trusty tree ; 

He smote the justice on the breast 
That his arrow burst in three. 



74 Old English Ballads 

^^ God's curse on his heart," said William, 

^^This day thy coat did on ! 
If it had been no better then mine, 

It had gone near thy bone.'' 

^^ Yield thee, Cloudesly/' said the justice, 

^^And thy bow and arrows thee fro'." from 

^^ God's curse on his heart," said fair Alice, 

'^That my husband counseleth so !" 

^^Set fire on the house," said the sheriff, 

^' Since it will not better be ; 
And burn we therein William," he said, 

^^His wife, and his children three." 

They fired the house in many a place. 

The fire flew up on high ; 
^^Alas !" then cried fair Alice, 

'^I see we here shall die." 

William opened a back window 

That was in his chamber high ; 
And there with sheets he did let down 

His wife and children three. 

''Have here my treasure," said William, 

''My wife and my children three ; 
For God's love do them no harm, 

But wreak you all on me ! " 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 75 

William shot so wondrous well 

Till his arrows were all ago' gone 

And fire so fast upon him fell 

That his bowstring burnt in two. 

The sparkles burnt and fell upon 

Good William of Cloudesly ; 
But then was he a woeful man, and said, 

''This is a coward's death to me !" 



^'Liever had I/' said William, rather 

''With my sword in the rout to run, 
Than here among my enemies wood savage 

Thus cruelly to burn/' 

He took his sword and his buckler, 

And among them all he ran ; 
Where the people were most in press, thickest 

He smote down many a man ; 

There might no man abide his strokes stand 

So fiercely on them he ran. 
Then they threw windows and doors on him, 

And so took that good yeoman. 

There they bound him hand and foot, 

And in a deep dungeon him cast. 
"Now, Cloudesly," said the justice, 

"Thou shalt be hanged in haste." 



76 Old English Ballads 

*^A pair of new gallows/' said the sheriff, 

^^Now shall I for thee make, 
And all the gates of Carlisle shall be shut ; 

No man shall come in thereat. 



^^Then shall not help thee Clym of the Clough, 

Nor yet shall Adam Bell, 
Though they came with a thousand men. 

Nor all the devils in hell." 

Early in the morning the justice uprose ; 

To the gates first 'gan he gone, went 

And commanded to be shut full close 

Lightly every one. 

Then went he to the market place, 

As fast as he could hie, 
A pair of new gallows there he set up 

Beside the pillory. 

A little boy among them asked, 

'^ What meaneth that gallow tree ? " 
They said, ^^To hang a good yeoman 

Called WilHam of Cloudesly.'' 

The little boy was town swineherd, 

And kept fair Alice's swine; 
Oft had he seen Cloudesly in the wood, 

And given him there to dine. 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 

He went out at a crevice in the wall ; 

And lightly to the wood did gone; 
There met he with these wighty yeomen 

Shortly and anon. 



77 



go 



'^Alas !'' then said that little boy, 
^^You tarry here all too long; 

Cloudesly is taken and damned to death 
And ready for to hang." 



condemned 



*'Alas/' then said good Adam Bell, 
^^That ever we saw this day ! 

He had better with us have tarried, 
As so oft we did him pray. 



^'He might have dwelt in green forests 

Under the shadows sheene, 
And kept both him and us at rest, • 

Out of all trouble and teen." 



beautiful 
harm 



Adam bent a right good bow ; 

A great hart soon had he slain : 
^'Take that, child," he said, "to thy dinner, 

And bring me mine arrow again." 



'Now go we hence," said these wight yeomen; 

"Tarry we no longer here ; 
We shall him rescue, by God's grace, 

Though we pay for it full dear." 



78 Old English Ballads 

To Carlisle went these bold yeomen, 

All in a morning of May, 
Here is a part of Cloudesly ; 
Another is for to say. 



The Second Part 

The second part of this ballad tells how Adam Bell and Clym 
of the Clough came to Carlisle to rescue William of Cloudesly 
out of the hands of the sheriff. They found the gates shut and 
every one forbidden to enter until after the hanging. But they 
pretended to have a letter bearing the king's seal, and were 
admitted. At once they turned upon the porter, broke his neck, 
and took his keys. Then they went to see the hanging. When 
it was about to proceed, one shot the sheriff and the other the 
justice. Then they loosed Cloudesly, and all three stood to- 
gether to fight the mayor and his men. At last they fought 
their way out of the town, when Adam Bell threw the keys at 
the heads of the people and the three returned to the Forest of 
Inglewood. There is a third part to the ballad, which tells that 
Alice and the children went to live with William in the forest. 

And when they came to merry Carlisle, 

All in the morning tyde, 
They found the gates shut them unto 

Round about on every side. 

''Alas," then said good Adam Bell, 

''That ever we were made men ! 
These gates be shut so wondrous wjell 

That we may not come therein." 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 79 

Then spake him Clym of the Clough : 

^' With a will we will us in bring ; 
Let us say we be messengers, 

Straight come now from our king.'^ 

Adam said, *^I have a letter written; 

Now let us wisely work ; 
We will say we have the king's seal ; 

I hold the porter no clerk." could not read 

Then Adam Bell beat on the gates 

With strokes great and strong. 
The porter marveled who was thereat 

And to the gates fast he throng. ran 

^^Who is there," said the porter, 

^'That maketh all this knocking?" 
^^We be two messengers," said Clym of the Clough 

^^Be come straight from our king." 

''We have a letter," said Adam Bell ; 

''To the justice we must it bring; 
Let us in, our message to do, 

That we may again to the king." 

''Here cometh none in," said the porter, 

"By Him that died on a tree. 
Till that false thief be hanged up, 

Called William of Cloudesly." 



8o Old English Ballads 

Then spake that good yeoman, Clym of the Clough, 

And swore by Maty free, 
'^ And if that we stand long without, 

Like a thief hanged shalt thou be. 



^^Lo ! here we have the king's seal ! 

What, stupid, art thou wood ?'' 
The porter weened it had been so, thought 

And lightly did off his hood. took off his 



hat 



^'Welcome is my lord's seal !" he said; 

'^For that you shall come in." 
He opened the gates full shortly ; 

An evil opening for him ! 

^^Now are we in," said Adam Bell, 

^^ Whereof we are right fain ; glad 

But Christ only knows, assuredly, 

How we shall get out again." ^ 

^^Had we the keys," said Clym of the Clough, 

^^ Right well then should we speed ; 
Then might we come out well enough, 

When we see time and need." 

They called the porter to counsel, 

And wrung his neck in two. 
And cast him into a deep dungeon. 

And took his keys him fro'. from 











3x^'" , 







The Market Place ix AIerry Carlisle 



Adam Bell, Clyntj and William 83 

^^Now am I porter/' said Adam Bell ; 

^^See brother, the keys are here; 
The worst porter to merry Carlisle 

It has had this hundred year. 

^^And now we will our bows bend, 

Into the town will we go, 
For to deliver our dear brother. 

That Ueth in care and woe." 

Then they bent their good yew bows. 

And looked their strings were round; 
The market place in merry Carlisle 

They beset in that stound. hour 

And as they looked them beside 

A pair of new gallows they see. 
And the justice with a quest of squires, a jury 

That had judged William hanged to be. 

And Cloudesly himself lay ready in a cart, 

Fast bound both foot and hand ; 
And a strong rope about his neck, 

All ready for to be hanged. 

The justice called to him a lad : 

Cloudesly's clothes he should have, 
To take the measure of that good yeoman, 

And thereafter to make his o;rave. 



84 Old English Ballads 

''1 have seen as great a marvel/' said Cloudesly, 

^^As between this and prime, four o'clock 

He that maketh that grave for me, 
Himself may lie therein.'' 



u 



Thou speakest proudly," said the justice; 
^^I will hang thee with my hand." 
Full well heard this his brethren two 
There still as they did stand. 

Then Cloudesly cast his eye aside, 
And saw his two brethren stand 

At a corner of the market place. 

With their good bows bent in their hands. 

'^I see good comfort," said Cloudesly; 

^^ Yet hope I well to fare ; 
If I might have my hands at will, 

Right little would I care." 

Then spake good Adam Bell 
To Clym of the Clough so free : 

'' Brother, see you mark the justice well; 
Lo, yonder you may him see ! 

'^And at the sheriff shoot I will 

Strongly with an arrow keen ; 
A better shot in merry Carlisle 

This seven year was not seen." 



Adam Bell, Clym, and William 85 

They loosed their arrows both at once ; 

Of no man had they dread ; 
The one hit the justice, the other the sheriff, 

That both their sides 'gan bleed. began to 

bleed 

All men vowed that them stood nigh, 

When the justice fell to the ground, 
And the sheriff fell nigh him by, 

Either had his death's w^ound. 



All the citizens fast 'gan fly, began to run 

They durst no longer abide ; 
Then hghtly they loosed Cloudesly, 

Where he with ropes lay tied. 

They fought together like brethren true, 

Like hardy men and bold ; 
Many a man to the groimd they threw, 

And many a heart made cold. 

But when their arrows w^ere all gone, 
* Men pressed on them full fast ; 
They drew their swords then anon, 
And their bows from them they cast. 

Then many a horn in Carhsle was blown, 

And the bells backward did ring ; 
Many a woman said, ^^^las !" 

And many their hands did wring. 



86 Old English Ballads 

The mayor came armed a full great pace, 

With a poleax in his hand ; 
Many a strong man with him was, 

There in that stour to stand. fight 

But all for nought was that they wrought, 

For so fast they down were laid, 
Till they all three that so manfully fought. 

Were gotten without at a braid. in a moment 

^^Have here your keys !" said Adam Bell; 

''Mine office I here forsake ; 
If you do by my counsel, 

A new porter do you make." 

He threw their keys at their heads, 

And bade them evil to thrive. 
And all that letteth any good yeoman stoppeth 

To come and comfort his wife. 

Thus be these good yeomen gone to the wood. 

As lightly as leaf on lynd ; the linden 

They laugh and be merry in their mood. 
Their enemies were far behind. 



Efte l^unttng of t\}t (£:\}thiot 

In the olden time, England and Scotland were separate 
nations, and the Cheviot Hills were the boundary hne be- 
tween them. As the two countries were almost constantly 
at war, each would place its most courageous knights in 
charge of the counties along the border, to keep back the 
enemy. These border counties were called Marches, 
and these knights were called the Lord Wardens of the 
Marches. 

It was one of the laws of the Marches that neither 
party should hunt in the other's borders without the per- 
mission of the Lord Warden. It was the custom when one 
wanted to hunt to send to the warden of the opposite 
march for leave to do so. If permission was granted, the 
hunt took place without interruption. But if permission 
were not granted, or had not been asked, then the warden 
of the opposite march would gather his men and try to 
prevent the hunt. Of course, that would always bring 
on a fight something hke the one described in the ballad 
of Chevy Chace. 

The Earl of Percy, an Englishman, and the Earl of 
Douglas, a Scotchman, were wardens of the opposite 
marches. They were both brave and skillful knights and 
each was somewhat jealous of the other's reputation. 
Earl Percy had vowed to hunt for three days in the Scot- 
tish border without asking the leave of Earl Douglas. The 

87 



88 Old English Ballads 

Scottish knight heard of it, and sent word that he would 
prevent the sport. The two forces met, the Englishmen 
armed with the long bow and sword, and the Scotchmen 
with spears, and the fight was about to begin when Douglas 
advanced and proposed that he and Percy fight it out alone, 
and not risk the lives of their men. Percy accepted the 
challenge, but some of his men would not permit it. So 
the fight was on. The two leaders found each other out 
and fought until Douglas asked Percy to yield, and join 
the forces of the Scottish king. The offer was rejected, 
and an English arrow pierced Douglas to the heart. A 
Scottish knight, seeing his leader slain, rushed upon Percy 
and drove a spear through his body. Then the fight began 
again, and was carried on with such fury that of two thou- 
sand Scotchmen, only fifty-five were able to leave the field, 
and of fifteen hundred Enghshmen only fifty- three returned 
to their homes. 



God prosper long our noble king, 

Our fives and safeties all ; 
A woeful hunting once there did 

In Chevy Chace befall. 

To drive the deer with hound and horn, 

Earl Percy took his way ; 
The child may rue that is unborn 

The hunting of that day. 



Chevy Chace 89 



The stout Earl of Northumberland 

A vow to God did make, 
His pleasure in the Scottish woods 

Three summer days to take ; 

The chiefest harts in Chevy Chace 

To kill and bear away; 
These tidings to Earl Douglas came, 

In Scotland where he lay. 

He sent Earl Percy present word, 
He would prevent his sport ; 

The English Earl not fearing that, 
Did to the woods resort, 

With fifteen hundred bowmen bold, 

All chosen men of might, 
Who knew full well in time of need 

To aim their shafts aright. 

The gallant greyhounds swiftly ran, 

To chase the fallow deer ; 
On Monday they began to hunt. 

Ere daylight did appear ; 

And long before high noon they had 
An hundred fat bucks slain ; 

Then having dined, the drovers went 
To rouse the deer again. 



go Old English Ballads 

The bowmen mustered on the hills, 

Well able to endure ; 
Their h)acksides all, with special care, 

That day were guarded sure. 



The hounds ran swiftly through the woods, 

The nimble deer to take, 
That with their cries the hills and dales 

An echo shrill did make. 

Lord Percy to the quarry went, 

To view the tender deer ; 
Quoth he, ^^Earl Douglas promised 

This day to meet me here ; 

^^But if I thought he would not come, 

No longer would I stay.'' 
With that, a brave young gentleman 

Thus to the Earl did say : 

*^Lo, yonder doth Earl Douglas come, 

His men in armor bright ; 
Full twenty hundred Scottish spears. 

All marching in our sight. 



u 



All men of pleasant Tivydale, 

Fast by the river Tweed." 
O cease your sport," Earl Percy said, 

^^And take your bows with speed. 



Chevy Chace .91 



^^And now with me, my countrymen, 
Your courage forth advance ; 

For never was there champion yet 
In Scotland or in France, 



a 



That ever did on horseback come, 
But, if my hap it were, . my chance 

I durst encounter man for man, 
With him to break a spear." 

Earl Douglas on his milk-white steed, 

Most like a baron bold, 
Rode foremost of his company. 

Whose armor shone like gold. 

^^Show me,'' said he, ^^ whose men you be. 

That hunt so boldly here. 
That, without my consent, do chase 

And kill my fallow deer." 

The man that first did answer make 

Was noble Percy he ; 
Who said, ^' We hst not to declare, wish not 

Nor show whose men we be. 

^' Yet will we spend our dearest blood, 

Thy chief est harts to slay." 
Then Douglas swore a solemn oath, 

And thus in rage did say : 



92 Old English Ballads 

*^Ere thus I will out-braved be, 

One of us two shall die ; 
I know thee well, an earl thou art, 

Lord Percy, so am I. 

'^^But trust me, Percy, pity it were, 

And great offense, to kill 
Any of these our guiltless men. 

For they have done no ill. 

^'Let thou and I the battle try, 

And set our men aside.'' 
^^ Accurst be he," Earl Percy said, 

^'By whom this is denied/' 

Then stepped a gallant squire forth, 
Witherington was his name, 

Who said, ^^I would not have it told 
To Henry, our King, for shame, 

^^That e'er my captain fought on foot, 

And I stood looking on; 
You be two earls," said Witherington, 
And I a squire alone. 



a 



^'VW do the best that do I may, 
While I have power to stand; 

While I have power to wield my sword, 
I'll fight with heart and hand." 



f<\ 



•^^, 



.. r^. 



•^- y J ^-'^^li' 






w<k^|^^ 







At Chevy Chace 



Chevy Chace 95 

Our English archers bent their bows, 

Their hearts were good and true ; 
At the first flight of arrows sent, 

Full four score Scots they slew. 

They closed full fast on every side, 

No slackness there was found ; 
And many a gallant gentleman 

Lay gasping on the ground. 

God ! it was a grief to see, 

And likewise for to hear 
The cries of men lying in their gore. 

And scattered here and there. 

At last these two stout earls did meet, 

Like captains of great might ; 
Like Kons wood they laid on lode, fierce 

And made a cruel fight. 

They fought until they both did sweat, 

With swords of tempered steel, 
Until the blood, hke drops of rain. 

They trickling down did feel. 

^^ Yield thee. Lord Percy," Douglas said; 

^'In faith I will thee bring 
Where thou shalt high advanced be 

By James, our Scottish king. 



96 Old English Ballads 

*^'Thy ransom I will freely give, 

And thus report of thee, 
Thou art the most courageous knight 

That ever I did see." 



''No, Douglas/' quoth Earl Percy then, 

''Thy proffer I do scorn ; 
I will not yield to any Scot, 

That ever yet was born." 

With that, there came an arrow keen 

Out of an English bow. 
Which struck Earl Douglas to the heart, 

A deep and deadly blow; 

Who never spake more words than these^ 
''Fight on, my merry men all ; 

For why, my life is at an end; 
Lord Percy sees my fall." 

Then leaving Hfe, Earl Percy took 

The dead man by the hand. 
And said, "Earl Douglas, for thy life 

Would I had lost my land ! 

^'O God ! my very heart doth bleed 

With sorrow for thy sake ; 
For sure a more renowned knight 

Mischance could never take." 



Chevy Chace 97 



A knight amongst the Scots there was, 
Which saw Earl Douglas die, 

Who straight in wrath did vow revenge 
Upon the Lord Percy ; 

Sir Hugh Montgomery was he called, 
Who, with a spear most bright. 

Well mounted on a gallant steed. 
Ran fiercely through the fight ; 

And passed the English archers all, 

Without all dread or fear, 
And through Earl Percy's body then 

He thrust his hateful spear. 

With such a vehement force and might 

He did his body gore, 
The spear ran through the other side 

A large cloth yard, and more. 

So thus did both these nobles die, 
Whose courage none could stain ; 

An English archer then perceived 
The noble earl was slain. 

He had a bow bent in his hand, 

Made of a trusty tree ; 
An arrow of a cloth yard long 

Up to the head drew he. 



g8 Old English Ballads 

Against Sir Hugh Montgomery, 

So right his shaft he set, 
The gray goose wing that was thereon 

In his heart's blood was wet. 



The fight did last from break of day 

Till setting of the sun ; 
For when they rung the evening bell, 

The battle scarce was done. 

With stout Earl Percy, there was slain, 

Sir John of Egerton, 
Sir Robei t Ratcliff, and Sir John, 

Sir James, that bold Baron. 

And with Sir George and stout Sir James, 
Both knights of good account, 

Good Sir Ralph Rabby there was slain, 
Whose powers did surmount. 

And with Earl Douglas, there was slain 

Sir Hugh Montgomery, 
Sir Charles Murray, that from the field 

One foot would never flee. 

Sir Charles Murray of Ratcliff, too. 

His sister's son was he ; 
Sir David Lamb, so well esteemed, 

Yet saved could not be. 



Chevy Chace 99 

And the Lord Maxwell in like case 

Did with Earl Douglas die ; 
Of twenty hundred Scottish spears, 

Scarce fifty-five did fly. 

Of fifteen hundred Englishmen, 

Went home but fifty three ; 
The rest were slain in Chevy Chace, 

Under the greenwood tree. 

Next day did many widows come, 

Their husbands to bewail ; 
They washed their wounds in brinish tears, 

But all would not prevail. 

Their bodies, bathed in purple blood, 

They bore with them away : 
They kissed them dead a thousand times, 

Ere they were clad in clay. 

This news was brought to Edinborough, 

Where Scotland's king did reign, 
That brave Earl Douglas suddenly 

Was with an arrow slain. 



^^0 heavy news/' King James did say; 

*^ Scotland can witness be, 
I have not any captain more 

Of such account as he.'' 



loo Old English Ballads 

Like tidings to King Henry came, 

Within as short a space, 
That Percy of Northumberland 

Was slain in Chevy Chace. 

^'Now God be with him," said our king, 

^^ Since it will no better be ; 
I trust I have, within my realm, 

Five hundred as good as he. 

"Yet shall not Scots nor Scotland say, 

But I will vengeance take, 
I'll be revenged on them all, 

For brave Earl Percy's sake." 

This vow full well the king performed 

After, at Humbledown ; 
In one day, fifty knights were slain, 

With lords of great renown. 

And of the rest, of small account, 

Did many thousands die ; 
Thus ended the hunting in Chevy Chace 

Made by the Earl Percy. 

God save our king, and bless this land 

In plenty, joy, and peace ; 
And grant henceforth that foul debate 

'Twixt noblemen may cease ! 



^obj ti}e SijepJirrlr of ttje ^tibot of Canterimrg an^ 

stDcrcti (fTertatn 5Rtot»les propositi bg l^tng 

3oi)n, antr sabeti t|)e 2.ife of M& Jlaster 

The old ballad makers were very fond of representing the 
common people as outwitting the king and the nobility. In this 
ballad, the wit of a shepherd defeated the cruel purpose of King 
John. The King had become jealous of the abbot of Canter- 
bury because he had a larger retinue of knights and servants 
than were to be found about the royal court. The abbot was 
sent for and informed that he was suspected of treason, but was 
told that his life should be spared if he would give proper answers 
to three riddles, which the king thought impossible of answer. 

The abbot was given three weeks in which to produce his 
answers or prepare for death. He consulted the famous scholars 
of Cambridge and Oxford, but received no help. He was re- 
turning home in despair, when he met his own shepherd, who 
looked very much like his master. The shepherd offered to 
meet the king and answer the questions, or take the consequences. 
He was dressed like the abbot, given horses and serving-men, 
and sent to the Court, where he gave such proper but unex- 
pected answers to the questions of the king that he received a 
pardon for both himself and his master. 

^iuQ 3o!)n anti tije a6&ot of Canter&urs 

An ancient story 111 tell you anon 
Of a notable prince, that was called King John; 
And he ruled England with main and with might, 
For he did great wrong, and maintained little right. 

lOI 



102 Old English Ballads 

And I'll tell you a story, a story so merry, 
Concerning the abbot of Canterbury : 
How for his housekeeping and high renown, 
They rode post for him to fair London town. 

An hundred men, the king did hear say, 

The abbot kept in his house every day ; 

And fifty gold chains, without any doubt, knights who 

In velvet coats waited the abbot about. ^^''^ ^^^^ 

chains 

^^How now, father abbot, I hear it of thee, 
Thou keepest a far better house than me ; 
And for thy housekeeping and high renown, 
I fear thou work'st treason against my crown." 

^^My liege," quoth the abbot, ^^I would it were known 
I never spend nothing but what is my own ; 
And I trust your grace will do me no deere hurt 

For spending of my own true-gotten gear." money 

'^ Yes, yes, father abbot, thy fault it is high. 
And now for the same thou needest must die ; 
For except thou canst answer questions three. 
Thy head shall be smitten from thy body. 

^^ And first," quoth the king, ^^when I'm in this stead, place 
With my crown of gold so fair on my head. 
Among all my hege men so noble of birth. 
Thou must tell me to one penny what I am worth. 



King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 103 

^^ Secondly, tell me, without any doubt, 
How soon I may ride the whole world about ; 
And at the third question thou must not shrink 
But tell me here truly what I do think.'' 

'^O these are hard questions for my shallow wit, 
Nor I cannot answer your grace as yet : 
But if you will give me but three weeks' space, 
I'll do my endeavor to answer your grace." 

^^Now three weeks' space to thee will I give. 
And this is the longest time thou hast to live ; 
For if thou dost not answer my questions three, 
Thy lands and thy livings are forfeit to me." 

Away rode the abbot all sad at that word. 

And he rode to Cambridge and Oxenf ord ; Oxford 

But never a doctor there was so wise. 

That could with his learning an answer devise. 

Then home rode the abbot of comfort so cold, 
And he met his shepherd a-going to fold ; 
*^How now, my lord abbot, you are welcome home; 
What news do you bring us from good King John ?" 

^^Sad news, sad news, shepherd, I must give, 
That I have but three days more to live ; 
For if I do not answer him questions three. 
My head will be smitten from my body. 



I04 Old English Ballads 

^^The first is to tell him there in that stead, 
With his crown of gold so fair on his head, 
Among all his liege men so noble of birth, 
To within one penny of what he is worth. 

^^The second, to tell him, without any doubt, 
How soon he may ride this whole world about ; 
And at the third question I must not shrink. 
But tell him there truly what he does think." 

'^Now cheer up, sire abbot, did you never hear yet, 
That a fool he may learn a wise man wit ? 
Lend me horse, and serving men, and your apparel. 
And I'll ride to London to answer your quarrel. 

^'Nay, frown not, for it hath been told unto me, 

I am like your lordship, as ever may be ; 

And if you will but lend me your gown. 

There is none shall know us at fair London town." 



^^ Now horses and serving men thou shalt have, 
With sumptuous array most gallant and brave. 
With crozier, and miter, and rochet, and cope. 
Fit to appear before our father the Pope." 

^'Now, welcome, sire abbot," the king he did say, 
'^ 'Tis well thou art come back to keep thy day : 
For if thou canst answer my questions three. 
Thy life and thy living both saved shall be. 






y V. 



■^ \ M 







'^ii~''—.:^^^^"^^C^<i^' 






M 






rw 



^,^- 



^r>, "^ ^- 










The Abbot and the Shepherd 



King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 107 



a 



And first, then thou seest me here in this stead, 
With my crown of gold so fair on my head, 
Among all my liege men so noble of birth, 
Tell me to one penny what I am worth." 



a 



For thirty pence our Saviour was sold 
Among the false Jews, as I have been told : 
And twenty nine is the worth of thee. 
For I think thou are one penny worser than he." 

The king he laughed, and swore by St. Bittel, 
^^I did not think I have been worth so little ! 
Now secondly tell me, without any doubt 
How soon I may ride this whole world about." 

^^You must rise with the sun, and ride with the same 
Until the next morning he riseth again ; 
And then your grace need not make any doubt 
But in twenty four hours you'll ride it about." 

The king he laughed, and swore by St. Jone, 

^^I did not think it could be done so soon ! 

Now from the third question thou must not shrink. 

But tell me here truly what I do think." 

^^Yea, that shall I do, and make your grace merry; 
You think I'm the Abbot of Canterbury ; 
But I'm his poor shepherd, as plain you may see. 
That I come to beg pardon for him and for me." 



io8 Old English Ballads 

The king he laughed, and swore by the mass, 
'' I'll make thee lord abbot this day in his place ! '' 
^^Now nay, my hege, be not in such speed, 
For alack I can neither write nor read." 



'^Four nobles a week, then, I will give thee, 
For this merry jest thou hast shown unto me ; 
And tell the old abbot when thou comest home. 
Thou hast brought him a pardon from good King John, 



l^oixr ttje STannrr of Earntoort!) traUeU Worsts toitfj 
tl)e Etttg, 6ut toas glaU to IraUe bacft again 

In the following ballad the king gets rather the best of the 
joke. A tanner, who could think of httle but the price of cow- 
hides, met the king, whom^he took to be a robber. The king 
suggested that they trade horses, but, although the king had 
much the best horse, the tanner insisted upon a golden noble 
as '^boot" or difference in value between the two. The trade 
was made and the tanner threw a cowhide from his own quiet 
mare to the fiery steed of the king. He then mounted, but 
the king's horse became frightened at the cowhide, ran away, 
and tumbled the tanner off. Then he was anxious to trade 
back, but the king insisted upon double the boot. When the 
tanner discovered that this was the king and not a thief, he was 
greatly frightened and expected to be hanged. But the king 
pardoned him, and made him Esquire of Plumpton Park, with 
an income of three hundred marks a year. 

WiiuQ lEtfixrarU antf t\}t Canner 

In summer time, when leaves grow green, 

And blossoms bedeck the tree. 
King Edward would a hunting ride, 

Some pastime for to see. 

With hawk and hound he made him bowne, ready 

With horn, and eke with bow, ^^^^ 

To Drayton Basset he took his way, 
With all his lords a row. 

109 



no Old English Ballads 

And he had ridden o'er dale and down 

By eight o'clock in the day, 
When he was 'ware of a bold tanner, 

Came riding along the way. 

A fair russet coat the tanner had on, 

Fast buttoned under his chin, 
And under him a good cowhide, 

And a mare of four shilling. worth four 

shillings 

^^Now stand you still, my good lords all, 

Under the greenwood spray ; 
And I will go to yonder fellow, 

To see what he will say." 

^^What tidings hear you," said the king, 

^^As you ride far and near ?" 
^^I have no tidings, sir, by the mass, 

But that cow-hides are dear." 

^^ Cowhides ! Cowhides ! what things are those? 

I marvel what they be ?" 
^^What, art thou a fool?" the tanner replied, 

^^I carry one under me." 



^^ What craftsman art thou ?" said the king, 

^^I pray thee tell me true." 
''I am a barker, by my trade ; ^ tanner, be- 

T^.T ^11 ^ A ' A J^^ -^)J cause he uses 

Now tell me what art thou ? ^^^^ -^^ ^^^_ 

ning 



King Edward and the Tanner iii 

^'I am a poor courtier, sir/' quoth he, 

'^That am forth of service worn ; out of a place 

And fain I would thy prentice be, 

Thy cunning for to learn." 

'^ Marry heaven forbid/' the tanner replied, 

^^That thou my prentice were ; 
Thou wouldst spend more good than I should win, get 

By forty shillings a year." 

^^ Yet one thing would I," said our king, 

^^If thou wilt not seem strange, 
Though my horse be better than thy mare. 

Yet with thee I fain would change." 

^^ Why if with me thou fain would change, 

As change full well may we, 
By the faith of my body, thou proud fellow, 

I will have some boot of thee." 

*^That were against reason," said the king, 

^^I swear, so mote I thee, so help me 

My horse is better than thy mare, God 

And that thou well mayest see." 

^^ Yea, sir, but Brocke is gentle and mild, 

And softly she will fare ; 
Thy horse is unruly and wild, I wis, I know 

Aye skipping here and there." 



112 Old English Ballads 

^' What boot wilt thou have ?'' our king replied; 

'^Now tell me on this stound/' time, hour 

^^No pence, nor halfpence, by my faith, 

But a noble in gold so round.'' 

^^ Here's twenty groats of white money, 

Since thou wilt have it of me." 
^'I would have sworn now," quoth the tanner, 
Thou hadst not had one penny." 



a 



^^But since we two have made a change, 

A change we must abide ; 
Although thou hast gotten Brocke, my mare, 

Thou gettest not my cowhide." 

^^I will not have it," said the king, 

^'I swear, so mote I thee ; 
Thy foul cowhide I would not bear, 

If thou wouldst give it to me." 

The tanner he took his good cowhide, 

That of the cow was hilt, skinned 

And threw it upon the king's saddle, 

That was so fairly gilt. 

^^Now help me up, thou fine fellow, 

'Tis time that I were gone ; 
When I come home to GylJian, my wife. 

She'll say I am a gentleman." 



King Edward and the Tanner 113 

But when his steed saw the cow's tail wag, 

And eke the black cow horn, 
He stamped, and stared, and away he ran, 

As the devil had him borne. 



The tanner he pulled, and the tanner he sweat, 

And held by the pummel fast ; 
At length the tanner came tumbling down, 

His neck he had well-nigh brast. broken 



^^Take thy horse again with a vengeance," he said, 

^^ With me he shall not abide.'' stay 

^' My horse would have borne thee well enough, 
But he knew not of thy cowhide. 

^^ Yet if again thou fain wouldst change. 

As change full well may we. 
By the faith of my body, thou jolly tanner, 

I would have some boot of thee." 



'^ What boot wilt thou have," the tanner replied, 

^^Now tell me in this stound ?" hour 

*^No pence, no halfpence, sir, by my faith, 
But I will have twenty pound." 

^^ Here's twenty groats out of my purse. 

And twenty I have of thine ; 
And I have one more, which we will spend, 

Together at the wine." 



114 Old English Ballads 

The king set a bugle horn to his mouth, 

And blew both loud and shrill ; 
And soon came lords and soon came knights, 

Fast riding over the hill. 

^'Now, out alas/' the tanner he cried, 

^^That ever I saw this day ! 
Thou art a strong thief ; yon come thy fellows. 

Will bear my cowhide away." 

^^They are no thieves," the king replied, 

'^I swear, so mote I thee ; 
But they are the lords of the north countree country 

Here come to hunt with me." 

^^Be not afraid, tanner," said our king; 

^'I tell thee, so mote I thee, 
Lo, here I make thee the best esquire. 

That is in the north country. 

^^For Plumpton Park I will give thee. 

With tenements fair besides, — 
'Tis worth three hundred marks by the year, — 

To maintain thy good cowhide." 

^^Gramercy, my liege," the tanner replied ; many thanks 

^' For the favor thou hast me shown. 
If ever thou comest to merry Tamworth, , 

Neat's leather shall clout thy shoon." shoes 



?^ob} STtoo Hofaers bjere Erue to lEaci) ©tl)er 
anti bjere l^appg at ILast 

These old ballads were not all about kings and outlaws and 
bloody fights. Some of them were about love. This one tells 
how the son of a squire fell in love with the bailiff's daughter, 
and was constant and true to her in spite of his friends. He was 
sent to London as an apprentice, where he remained for seven 
years without seeing her, but set out in search of her as soon as 
he could. He found her true, and they were happily married. 

E\}t BatUrs ®augf)ter of ^Islington 

There was a youth, and a well-beloved youth. 

And he was a squire's son ; 
He loved the bailiff's daughter dear, 

That lived in Islington. 

Yet she was coy, and would not believe 

That he did love her so. 
No nor at any time would she 

Any countenance to him show. 

But when his friends did understand 

His fond and foolish mind, 
They sent him up to fair London, 

An apprentice for to bind. 

115 



ii6 Old English Ballads 

And when he had been seven long years, 
And never his love could see, — 

'^Many a tear have I shed for her sake, 
When she Httle thought of me." 

Then all the maids of Islington 

Went forth to sport and play, 
All but the baihff 's daughter dear ; 

She secretly stole away. 

She pulled off her gown of green, 

And put on ragged attire, 
And to fair London she would go 

Her true love to inquire. 

And as she went along the high road, 
The weather being hot and dry. 

She sat her down upon a green bank. 
And her true love came riding by. 

She started up, with color so red, 
Catching hold of his bridle rein ; 

^^One penny, one penny, kind sir," she said, 
^^Will ease me of much pain." 

^^ Before I give you one penny, sweetheart, 

Pray tell me where you were born," 
*^At Islington, kind sir," said she. 
Where I have had many a scorn." 



a 







.5 ^ ^ /f^^^spV 






'0i 




The Maid of Islington 



The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington 119 

^^I pray thee, sweetheart, then tell to me 

O tell me, whether you know 
The bailiff ^s daughter of Islington," 

^^She is dead, sir, long ago.'' 



^'If she be dead, then take my horse, 

My saddle and bridle also ; 
For I will into some far country. 

Where no man shall me know." 

^^O stay, stay, thou goodly youth, 

She standeth by thy side ; 
She is here alive, she is not dead, 

And ready to be thy bride." 

^^O farewell grief, and welcome joy, 

Ten thousand times therefor ; 
For now I have found my own true love, 

Whom I thought I should never see more." 



I^oto a Notetr ^tgfjtoasman of t!)e Scottts!) iSorlrer 

Jxfas BetrageU into t\)t ijantis of tlje Ittng, 

but Uies JFtsi)ttng l^erotcallg 

So long as there was constant war between Scotland and 
England, the border land between the two countries was con- 
tinually unsafe and ungoverned by either party. It was, there- 
fore, the resort of bold outlaws and freebooters, who, like Rob 
Roy, protected themselves by their own swords and lived by 
robbing travelers, driving off the cattle of the farmers on either 
side, or compelUng them to pay blackmail for their protection 
against other bands who lived by the same methods. 

Johnnie Armstrong was one of the boldest and most successful 
of these border free lances, who, although he owned no lands and 
had no rents to collect, was yet able to keep eightscore fighting 
men, splendidly equipped, about him at his hall or stronghold 
at Gilnockie. King James V of Scotland undertook to sup- 
press these bands of freebooters. He sent a letter to Armstrong 
asking him to come to Edinburgh. The letter looked kindly, 
as the king meant it should, but Johnnie took the precaution to 
have with him a good force of trusty men. 

The king had no intention of granting a pardon to this wild 
band, and his soft-spoken letter was simply a bait to betray 
them to their death. When Armstrong and his followers saw 
this, they drew their swords, cut down the king's guard, and 
would have escaped had not the whole city of Edinburgh turned 
out against them. Outnumbered as they were, they made a 
desperate fight, but were all slain except the foot-page, who 

120 



Johnnie Armstrong 121 

escaped on his pony to* inform Lady Armstrong of the death of 
her husband and his men. Her httle son, sitting on her knee, 
proved himself a true clansman, by then and there vowing that 
when he became a man he should revenge the death of his 
father. 

Sotjnnie Armstrong 

Is there ever a man in all Scotland, 

From the highest estate to the lowest degree, 

That can show himself now before our King ? 
Scotland is so full of treachery. 

Yes, there is a man in Westmoreland, 

And Johnnie Armstrong they do him call ; 

He has no lands nor rents coming in, 

Yet he keeps eightscore men within his hall. 

He has horses and harness for them all, 

And goodly steeds that be milk white, 
With their goodly belts about their necks 

With hats and feathers all alike. 

The king he writes a loving letter, 

And v/ith his own hand so tenderly. 
And hath sent it unto Johnnie Armstrong 

To come and speak with him speedily. 

When John he looked this letter upon. 

He looked as blithe as a bird in a tree ; 
^^I was never before a king in my life, 

My father, my grandfather, nor none of us three. 



122 Old English Ballads 

'^But seeing we must go before the kitig, 

Lord, we will go most gallantly ; 
Ye shall every one have a velvet coat, 

Laid down with golden laces three. 

''And every one shall have a scarlet cloak, 

Laid down with silver laces five, 
With golden belts about your necks, 

With hats and feathers all alike.'' 

But when Johnnie went from Giltnock-Hall, 
The wind it blew hard, and full fast it did rain ; 

''Now fare thee well, thou Giltnock-Hall, 
I fear I shall never see thee again." 

Now Johnnie he is to Edinborough gone, 
With his eightscore men so gallantly, 

And every one of them on a milk white steed. 
With their bucklers and swords hanging down 
to their knee. 

But when John came the king before. 

With his eightscore men so gallant to see, 

The king he moved his bonnet to him, 

He thought he had been a king as well as he. 

"O pardon, pardon, my sovereign liege. 
Pardon for my eightscore men and me ; 

For my name, it is Johnnie Armstrong, 
And subject of yours, my liege," said he. 



Johnnie Armstrong 123 

^^Away with thee, thou false traitor, 

No pardon will I grant to thee, 
But to-morrow morning by eight of the clock, 

I will hang up thy eightscore men and thee.'' 

Then Johnnie looked over his left shoulder, 

And to his merry men thus said he, 
'^I have asked grace of a graceless face. 

No pardon is there for you and me." 

Then John pulled out his good broad sword, 
That was made of the mettle so free ; 
f Had not the king moved his foot as he did, 
John had taken his head from his body. 

^' Come follow me, my merry men all, 

We will scorn one foot for to fly ; 
It shall never be said we were hanged like dogs ; 

We will fight it out most manfully." 

Then they fought on like champions bold. 
For their hearts were sturdy, stout and free ; 

Till they had killed all the king's good guard, — 
There were none left alive but one, two, or three. 



But then rose up all Edinborough, 
They rose up by thousands three ; 

A cowardly Scot came John behind, 
And ran him through the fair body. 



124 Old English Ballads 

Said John, ^' Fight on, my merry men all, 

I am a little wounded, but am not slain ; 
I will lay me down to bleed awhile, 

Then I'll rise and fight with you again." 

Then they fought on Hke mad men all, 

Till many a man lay dead on the plain, 
For they were resolved before they would yield, 

That every man would there be slain. 

So there they fought courageously, 

Till most of them lay dead there and slain. 

But little Musgrave, that was his foot page, 

With his bonny Grissel got away unta'n. untaken 

But when he came to Giltnock-Hall, 

The lady espied him presently: 
''What news, what news, thou Httle foot page. 

What news from thy master, and his company ?" 



ii 



My news is bad, lady," he said, 
''Which I do bring, as you may see. 
My master Johnnie Armstrong is slain. 
And all his gallant company." 

"Yet thou art welcome home, my bonny Grissel, 
Full oft hast thou been fed with corn and hay, 

But now thou shalt be fed with bread and wine. 
And thy sides shall be spurred no more, I say." 



Johnnie Armstrong 



125 



O then bespake his httle son, 
As he sat on his nurse's knee, 

^'If I ever live to be a man. 

My father's death revenged shall be. 




V 



I^oto .Sir ^atrtclt cSpms ©begetr tfje Commantr 
of i}ts Emg anU lost f)ts Me 

In the early days, before men had learned to build proper 
ships or to sail them properly, those who used the northern 
seas were extremely liable to shipwreck, especially during the 
winter months. Indeed, so dangerous was navigation in those 
times, that laws were made in Scotland that no ships carrying 
staple goods should leave the realm between the 28th of October 
and the 2d of February. 

Sir Patrick Spens was commanded by the King of Scotland to 
cross to Norway in this stormy season. He was too good a 
seaman not to know his danger, and besides, was especially 
warned by one of his oldest sailors. But his duty was to obey, 
and he went, — went to his death, and many of the young 
nobles of Scotland went to the bottom of the sea with him. 

cStr Patrick <Spens 

The king sat in Dunfermline town, 

Drinking the blood-red wine ; 
^^O where will I get a good sailor, 

To sail this ship of mine ?" 

Up and spake an eldern knight, elderly 

Sat at the king's right knee ; 
'^Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor, 

That sails upon the sea." 

126 




Sir Patrick Spens 



Sir Patrick Spens 129 

The king has written a braid letter, open letter 

And signed it with his hand, 
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, 

Was walking on the strand. 

^'To Noroway, to Noroway, 

To Noroway o'er the foam, 
The king's daughter of Noroway, 

'Tis thou must bring her home." 

The first line that Sir Patrick read, 

A loud laugh laughed he ; 
The next line that Sir Patrick read. 

The tear blinded his ee. eye 



a 



O who is this has done this deed. 
This ill deed done to me ; 
To send me out at this time of the year, 
To sail upon the sea? '' 



^^Make ready, make ready, my merry men all, 

Our good ship sails the morn," 
'^O say not so, my master dear. 

For I fear a deadly storm." 

^'Late, late yestereen I saw the new moon 

With the old moon in her arm ; 
And I fear, I fear, my dear master. 

That we will come to harm." 



130 Old English Ballads 

They had not sailed a league, a league, 

A league, but barely three, 
When the air grew dark, and the wind blew loud, 

And gurly grew the sea. troubled 

The anchors broke, and the topmasts lap, sprang 

It was such a deadly storm. 
And the waves came over the broken ship, 

Till all her sails were torn. 



O loath, loath were our good Scotch lords 

To wet their cork-heeled shoon ! shoes 

But long ere all the play was played, 

They wet their hats aboon. above 

O many was the feather bed 

That floated on the foam ; 
And many was the good lord's son, 

That never more came home. 

O long, long will the ladies sit 

With their fans into their hands. 
Before they see Sir Patrick Spens, 

Come sailing to the land. 

And long, long, will the maidens sit 

With their good combs in their hair, 
Awaiting for their own dear loves, 

For them they'll see no more. 



Sir Patrick Spens 

Half o'er, half o'er from Aberdour 

'Tis fifty fathoms deep, 
And there lies good Sir Patrick Spens, 

With the Scotch lords at his feet. 



131 

Aberdeen 




3^oto t\)t HorU ^limtral of 1£nglanli iouQ]}t a 

liesperaU Battle fajttij a BolU Sea Eofafaer 

anlr ^elpeti tt)e JHerctjants of HonUon 

The sea had its robbers and outlaws as well as the land, and 
there were then no warships, as there are now, to make com- 
merce safe. Merchant vessels had always to go heavily armed 
and to fight off these lawless rovers as best they could. Of 
course, maiiy of them were captured by the pirates, the ship 
and goods taken, and the master was fortunate if he escaped 
with his life. 

Sir Andrew Barton was one of the boldest of these daring 
robbers of the sea. He was a Scotchman, and the spoils he had 
taken had made him immensely rich. He had two strong ships, 
one of them a pinnace, both heavily armed, and filled with skill- 
ful seamen and fearless fighters. The King of Scotland had 
given him commission to plunder the merchant ships of Portu- 
gal, but Sir Andrew had forgotten himself and was plundering 
English ships as well. 

Eighty merchants of London went before the king and asked 
that this daring outlaw be punished for his robberies, and the 
seas made safe for English commerce. Only one man had the 
courage to make the attempt, Charles Howard, Lord Admiral of 
England. The king had but one ship. This was accordingly 
fitted out and manned with the ablest gunners and best archers 
to be found in all the kingdom. 

With these Lord Howard put to sea. He had been out but 
three days when he came upon a merchant vessel belonging to 
one Henry Hunt. Only the day before this merchant had been 
captured by Barton and robbed of all his goods. Hunt was 
afraid of the pirate, but was finally induced to fight for the king, 

132 



How the Lord Admiral fought a Desperate Battle 133 

and gave valuable information about Sir Andrew and his 
ships. 

This gave Lord Howard two ships with which to fight the two 
belonging to the outlaw. On the following day the enemy was 
sighted. A well-directed shot by the king's gunner sent his 
pinnace to the bottom of the sea. Barton then ordered men to 
climb the mainmast and let fall the beams. Just what these 
were we do not know, but they were probably timbers carried 
aloft, to throw down upon the ships of the enemy. Whatever 
they were, as fast as his men appeared, English archers shot them 
down. In despair and rage, Sir Andrew, clad in his strongest 
armor, himself began to climb the mast. It took two deadly 
wounds to bring him to the deck, where he died, calling to his 
men to fight to the last. 

The ship, with its crew and its stolen wealth, was then 
captured and taken to London. Here, amid great rejoicing, 
the king gave fitting rewards to those who had taken part 
in the gallant fight. 



S>tr 'Inlireixi Barton 

The First Part 

As it befel in midsummer time, 

When birds sing sweetly on every tree, 

Our noble king, King Henry the Eighth, 
Over the river of Thames passed he. 

He was no sooner over the river, 
Down in a forest to take the air. 

Than eighty merchants of London City 
Came kneeKng before King Henry there. 



134 Old English Ballads 

^'O ye are welcome, rich merchants, 

Good sailors, welcome unto me !'' 
They swore by the rood they were sailors good, 

But rich merchants they could not be. 

'^To France nor Flanders dare we not pass, 

Nor Bordeaux voyage dare we not fare, go 

And all for a robber that lies on the seas 

And robs us of our merchant wares.'' 

King Henry frowned, and he turned him round. 
And swore by the Lord that was mickle of 

might, much power 

'' I thought there had not been one in the world, 
That durst have wrought England such un- 
wright." 



jj 



But ever they sighed and said, '^ Alas ! 

And unto King Henry this answer again, 
^^He is a proud Scot that will rob us all 

If we were twenty ships and he but one." 

The king looked over his left shoulder. 

Amongst his lords and barons so free ; 
'^Have I never a lord in all my realm, noble 

Will fetch }^on traitor unto me ?" 

^^Yes, that dare I," says my Lord Charles 
Howard, 

Near to the king whereas he did stand, 
'^If it please your grace to give me leave, 

Myself will be the only man." 



Sir Andrew Barton 135 

^^Thou art but young/' the king replied, 
^^Yon Scot hath numbered many a year/' 

'^ Trust me, my Hege, I will make him quail, 
Or before my prince I will near appear." 

*^Thou shalt have six hundred men," said our 
king, 

'^And choose them over my realm so free, 
Besides good mariners and ship boys, 

To guide the great ship on the sea." 

The first man that Lord Howard chose 

Was the ablest gunner in all the realm ; 
This man was three score years and ten, 

And Peter Simon was his name. 

^' Peter," says he, ^^I must sail the sea, 

To bring home a traitor alive or dead ! 
Before all others I have chosen thee 

Of a hundred gunners to be the head." 

^^My lord," says he, ^4f you have chosen me 

Of a hundred gunners to be the head, 
Then hang me up on your mainmast tree. 

If I miss my mark a shilling bread." the breadth of 

a shilling 

My lord then chose a bowman rare, 

Whose active hands had gained fame ; 
In Yorkshire was this gentleman born. 

And William Horseley was his name. 



136 Old English Ballads 

^^Horseley/' says he, ^'I must with speed 
Go seek a traitor upon the sea, 

Before all others I have chosen thee, 
Of a hundred bowmen to be the head." 



^'My lord,'' says he, ^'if you have chosen me 
Of a hundred bowmen to be the head. 

On your mainmast tree I'll hanged be 
If I miss my mark one penny bread." 

With pikes and guns and bowmen bold. 
This noble Howard has gone to the sea, 

With a valiant heart and a pleasant cheer, 
Out at Thames mouth sailed he. 

He had not sailed days three. 

Upon the journey he took in hand. 

But there he met with a noble ship. 
And stoutly made it stay and stand. 

^^Thou must tell me," Lord Howard said, 
^'Now who thou art and what's thy name ; 

And show me where thy dwelling is, 

And whither bound and whence thou came." 

^^My name is Henry Hunt," says he, 
With a heavy heart and a careful mind, 

^'I and my ship do both belong 
Unto the Newcastle that stand upon Tyne." 



Sir Andrew Barton 

'^Hast thou not heard, now, Henry Hunt, 
As thou hast sailed by day and by night, 

Of a Scottish robber on the seas ; 

Men call him Sir Andrew Barton, knight?" 



137 



Then ever he sighed and said, "Alas !" 
With a grieved mind and well away, 

"But overwell I know that wight, 
I was his prisoner yesterday. 



strong man 



" As I was sailing upon the sea, 
A Bordeaux voyage as I did fare. 

To his hatchboard he clasped me 

And robbed me of my merchant wares. 



"And mickle debts, God wot, I owe. 
And every man will have his own. 

And I am bound toward London town, 
To our gracious king to make complain." 



God knows 



li 



That shall not need/' said my Lord Howard, 
"If thou canst let me this robber see. 
For every penny he hath taken thee froe 

Thou shalt be rewarded a shilling," quoth he. 



from 



"Now God forfend," says Henry Hunt, 
"That you should work so far amiss ! 

God keep you out of that traitor's hands, 
For little you wot what a man he is. 



forbid 



know 



138 



Old English Ballads 



^^ He is brass within and steel without, 

And beams he bears in his topcastle strong, 

His ship hath ordinance clear round about ; 
Besides, my lord, he is very wxll manned. 



his ship is 



cannon 



" He hath a pinnace is deerlye dight. 
Saint Andrew's Cross, that is his guide ; 

His pinnace bears nine score men and more, 
Besides fifteen cannon on every side. 



expensively 
fitted out 



^^ If you had twenty ships and he but one, 
I swear by kirk and bower and hall. 

He would overcome them every one. 
If once his beams they do down fall." 

''This is cold comfort," says my Lord Howard, 
''To welcome a stranger thus to the sea : 

Yet I'll bring him and his ship to shore. 
Or else into Scotland he shall carry me." 



ti 



Then a noble gunner you must have, 
And he must aim well, with his ee, 
And sink his pinnace into the sea 
Or else he never o'ercome will be. 



eye 



^' And if you chance his ship to board. 
This counsel I must give withal. 

Let no man to his topcastle go 

To strive to let his beams down fall. 



Sir Andrew Barton 139 



lantern 



'' And seven pieces of ordinance 

I pray your honor lend to me, 
On each side of my ship along, 

And I will lead you on the sea. 

" A glass I'll set that may be seen 
Whether you sail by day or night ; 

And to-morrow, I swear, by nine of the clock 
You shall meet with Sir Andrew Barton^ 
knight.'' 



The Second Part 

The merchant set my lord a glass, 

So well apparent in his sight, 
And on the morrow by nine of the clock. 

He showed him Sir Andrew Barton, knight. 

His hatchboard it was hatched with gold. 

So deerlye dight it dazzled the ee ; 
'^Now by my faith," says Lord Howard, 

^^This is a gallant sight to see. 

^^Take in your ensigns and standards all. 

So close that no man may them see ; 
And put me forth a white willow wand, 

As merchants use to sail the sea." 

But they stirred neither top nor mast ; did not salute 

Stoutly they passed Sir Andrew by ; 
^^What English churls are yonder," he said 

^^That can so little courtesy. 



14 o Old English Ballads 

''Now, by the rood, three years and more 

I have been admiral on the sea, 
And never an Enghsh or Portugal Portuguese 

Can pass this way without leave of me." 

Then called he forth his stout pinnace, 

''Fetch back yon peddlers now to me ; 
I swear by the mass, yon English churls 

Shall all be hanged at my mainmast tree." 

With that the pinnace it shot off ; 

That my Lord Howard full well might ken ; 
For it struck down my lord's foremast 

And killed fourteen of his men. 



iC 



Come hither, Simon !" says my lord, 
"Look that thy words be true thou said; 
I'll hang thee at my mainmast tree, 

If thou miss thy mark a shilling bread." 

Simon was old, but his heart it was bold. 
He took down a piece and laid it full low ; 

He put in chain full nine yards long, 

Besides other great shot less and mo. more 

With that he let his gunshot go ; 

So well he settled it with his ee. 
The first sight that Sir Andrew saw, 

He saw his pinnace sunk in the sea. 



Sir Andrew Barton 141 

And when he saw his pinnace sunk, 

Lord, how his heart with rage did swell ! 
^Xut my ropes ! It is time to be gone ! 

I'll go fetch yon peddlers back mysel !" myself 

When my lord saw Sir Andrew loose, 

Within his heart he w^as full fain ; glad 

^^ Spread out your ensigns! Strike up your 
drums ! 

Sound out your trumpets ! Sound amain ! 

'^ Fight on, my men,'' Sir Andrew cried, 

"Weale, howsoever the geere will sway; good luck, af- 

It is my lord admiral of England, ^^'' ^^^ ^^^ 

Is come to seek me on the sea." 

Simon had a son who shot right well. 

And well Sir Andrew might it ken. 
In at his deck he gave a shot. 

And killed sixty more of Sir Andrew's men. 

Henry Hunt came in at the other side, 

And at Sir Andrew he shot then, 
Soon drove down his foremost tree. 

And killed eighty more of his men. 

'^Now, out, alas ! " Sir Andrew cried, 

^^What may a man either think or say? 
Yon false thief is my strongest enemy. 

Who was my prisoner but yesterday. 



142 



Old English Ballads 



^^ Come hither to me, thou Gordon good, 
That ever wast ready at my call ; 

I will give thee three hundred pounds, 
If thou wilt let my beams down fall." 

Lord Howard he then called in haste, 
'' Horseley, see thou be true in stead; 

For thou shalt at the mainmast hang, 
If thou miss thy mark one penny bread." 



Then Gordon swarved the mainmast tree, 
He swarved it with might and main ; 

But Horseley with a bearing arrow 
Struck the Gordon through the brain. 



climbed 
carries well 



And he fell into the hatches again. 
And sore his deadly wound did bleed ; 

Then word went through Sir Andrew's men, 
How that the Gordon he was dead. 

^^ Come hither to me, James Hambilton, 

Thou art my only sister's son ; 
If thou wilt let my beams down fall, 

Six hundred nobles thou hast won." 



With that he swarved the mainmast tree. 
He swarved it with a nimble art ; 

But Horseley with a broad arrow 

Pierced the Hambilton through the heart. 



Sir Andrew Barton 143 

And down he fell upon the deck, 

That with his blood did stream amain ; 
Then every Scot cried, ^'Well-away ! 
Alas, a comely youth is slain.'' 

All woe begone was Sir Andrew then. 

With grief and rage his heart did swell ; 
^^Go fetch me forth my armor of proof, 

For I will to the topcastle mysel.'' 

^Xome hither, Horseley," says my lord, 

^'And look your shaft that it go right, 
Shoot a good shot in time of need, 

And for it thou shalt be made a knight." 

^^I'll do my best," quoth Horseley then, 

^^ Your honor shall see, with might and main. 

But, if I should be hanged at your mainmast, 

I have now left but arrows twain." two 

But at Sir Andrew he shot then ; 

He made sure to hit his mark ; 
Under the spole of his right arm armpit 

He smote Sir Andrew to the heart. 

Yet from the tree he would not start. 

But he clung to it with might and main. 
Under the collar then of his jack, coat of mail 

He struck Sir Andrew to the brain. 



144 Old English Ballads 

'^ Fight on, my men/' Sir Andrew cried, 
" I am a little hurt, but yet not slain ; 

I'll but lie down and bleed awhile, 
And then I'll rise and fight again. 

^^ Fight on, my men," Sir Andrew cries, 
^^And never flinch before the foe. 

Fight on for Scotland and Saint Andrew's cross, 
While you hear my whistle blow." 

They never heard his whistle blow. 

Which made their hearts wax sore adread : 

Then Horseley said, *^A.board, my lord. 
For well I wot Sir Andrew's dead." 



With that they boarded his noble ship. 
They boarded it with might and main ; 

Eighteen score Scots alive they found. 
The rest were either mained or slain. 

Lord Howard took a sword in his hand. 
And off he smote Sir Andrew's head ; 

The Scots stood by did weep and mourn 
But never a word did speak or say. 

He caused his body to be cast 
Over the hatchboard into the sea, 

And about his middle three hundred crowns, 
^^ Wherever thou land this will buy thee." 



Sir Andrew Barton 145 

Thus from the wars Lord Howard came, 

And back he sailed over the main ; 
With mickle joy and triumphing 

Into Thames mouth he came again. 

Lord Howard then a letter wrote, 

And sealed it with a seal and ring ; 
^^Such a noble prize have I brought to you 

As never did subject to any king. 

'^Sir Andrew^s ship I bring with me, 
Beset with pearls and precious stones ; 

Now hath your grace two ships of war, 
Before in England was but one." 

King Henry's grace with royal cheer, 

Welcomed the noble Howard home ; 
^' And where/' said he, ''is this rover stout, 

That I myself may give the doom ?" 

^'The rover he is safe, my liege. 

Full many a fathom in the sea. 
If he were alive as he is dead, 

I must have left England many a day. 

'^And your grace may thank four men in the 
ship. 

For the victory we have won ; 
These are William Horseley, Henry Hunt, 

And Peter Simon and his son." 



^46 Old English Ballads 

"To Henry Hunt/' the king then said, 
''In heu of what was from thee ta'en, 

A noble a day nov/ thou shalt have, 
And Sir Andrew's jewels and his chain. 

''And Horseley, thou shalt be a knight, 
And lands and hvings shalt have store ; 

Lord Howard shall be Earl of Nottingham, 
And so was never Howard before. 

"Now, Peter Simon, thou art old, 
I will maintain thee and thy son ; 

And thou shalt have five hundred pounds, 
For the good service thou hast done." 



taken 



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